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Post by TheZebraShakes™ on May 21, 2008 15:00:50 GMT -5
just commenting on a few things for now.
I like the addition of an "Out of Town" thread or something to that effect like Fangor said earlier. I understand that everyone has their own things to do in real life, but it is kind of annoying when people just disappear without telling you and we don't want to have to wait too long for a post that is not to come. It's not going to get anyone mad or anything, just a little notice would be nice.
colors, i like the colors of the site as is. It's easy on the eye and that's the main reason that I started posting so heavily and it's probably a big factor in why I've chosen this site in particular to dedicate much of my time too. I like the contrast and everything that needs to stand out does.
I don't think we should hide the DM's shorts. Yes, they are currently inactive, but they do stand the chance to have a few more games running on them, especially if we manage to bring in new players/DMs or want to make the attempt to draw some in with the running of a short.
Also, since many of the games on there are in actuallity short, they are easy to read once the games have been completed, so people can get a feel for how a play by post game on KMan's tends to work.
It's just something good to have available to peruse once in awhile for the newcomers, and maybe we could suggest that they take a look at some of the games there on initial visits to the site.
A change in the site name, I don't know, can't we just put a bunch of invisible tags that would make it come up in google searches more frequently, or is that illegal. But yeah, maybe we can keep the KMan's, but make sure that it's known that this is a play by post site in the title, maybe just add the subtitle, or if no one has a problem with it and we can think of something better, we may be able to get away with changing the site name, or at least just making a general title and keeping the rest.
I'm willing to do what I can. I don't go to many other D&D sites, but I'd be willing to see what's out there and what looks good enough to try promoting the site on, 'cause like KMan said, we don't want to end up drawing in unsavory types of folk. Wait, did he say that, well, if not, I will. We're pretty laid back in terms of what goes on in the games around here, we don't want to end up with a bunch of rules lawyers and power gamers or others who are likely to kill the mood for all of us.
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Post by VemuKhaham on May 21, 2008 15:19:40 GMT -5
Yes, an out-of-town thread is a good idea. I forgot to include it in the post above, but have edited it. I put it under the community/rants board.
Also, it may be best to make those threads that I suggested to be stickied be made into subboards, to stress their importance relative to the other purely 'rant threads'. So in the community board, we'd have two sub-boards, one for player introductions, one for out-of-town messages.
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Post by TheZebraShakes™ on May 21, 2008 15:50:51 GMT -5
I'm not sure that we should have the sub boards, that's just one step closer to being hidden out of sight to new users.
A sticky should work just fine and then we just unstick anything that wears out its welcome so the stickied topics don't get to cluttered up.
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Post by K Man on May 21, 2008 16:09:43 GMT -5
Alright, moved the general boards made it larger to be more visible. Regarding the out-of-game discussions...should all those threads be moved into Community board?
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Post by TheZebraShakes™ on May 21, 2008 16:35:59 GMT -5
hmmmm, yeah we have to look over some stuff and decide where it would be best to put it all. We still have a lot of organizing to do.
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Post by VemuKhaham on May 21, 2008 17:59:20 GMT -5
Much to do, much to do. What about the campaign status board, probably the crucial board that links every newcomer to the actual games. It seems a little overwhelming to me when I open it. There's no system, no way for me to at once see where there are actual opportunities for players looking for games to join, and it is cluttered. I would say that we could use a subboard there, where we can move threads of outdated topics. Just like games get archived, so should the threads calling for players for those games. So for every active game, there would be one thread. Perhaps general guidelines for thread titles can help as well: the game title, and then (Open) or (Closed).
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Post by Japic on May 21, 2008 18:27:08 GMT -5
I totally agree with Vemu, even as an experienced player I dont go in there because it's so crazy. Though I already know the status of every game I want to know about, so the board isn't a resource for me.
The titles should definately be standardized.
I recommend: Open/Closed/Seeking - System - Title
For example:
Closed - D&D 3.5 - The World's Largest Dungeon
Open - Cthulhu - Masks of Nyarlathotep (or would this game be seeking? Since we're still down TTC's spot)
In these examples you can tell quickly if it's open/closed/seeking players, the type of game it is (by system) then the specific title.
No need to standardize old/closed ones if we get them out of sight in an inactive section; though standardizing the active games will clean it up for sure.
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Post by Fangor the Fierce on May 21, 2008 18:41:28 GMT -5
Well, for that campaign status board, I could easily revive/update the post I started. It has the requisite entries for DM, synopsis, status, open/closed, and player info. It should do the trick. Yet, I would like to have some help in organizing it. Perhaps a process to where if there is an update needed, the DM/GM of that campaign would write up the entry, and send to whomever would be organizing that thread. It would save time with me having to go through each campaign and getting a feel for what it's about, the storyline, and the status.
Say, something like this:
The Idiots Guide to Being Evil
D&D 3.5 - Homebrew
A handful of acquaintances have been gathered, and it is decided that they would like to start their own guild. A Thieves Guild. Now, they go about trying to either eliminate the opposition, control them, or whatever else comes into their minds.
Starting level - 4
Current level - 4
Started - July 16, 2007
DM - TZS
Played by - RogueWolf, Rojito, TTC, TheUdjat, Deekin, Yakumo, Moroth, Lin
Player slots filled
The DM in this case, TZS, would simply write up a note/pm to myself saying, "New level of 5 for the characters, players are now *,*,* and *, and the synopsis should be edited to (insert synopsis here).
It would simplify the work, make it easier for everyone to get an idea of what's out there, and provide links for them to go to the ones that interest them.
How about it? If I update the info, would the DM's be willing to aid in keeping it updated on an as needed basis? I wouldn't mind keeping it organized, and would work on some eye candy for details to keep people interested.
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Post by spiral on May 22, 2008 3:20:48 GMT -5
Udjat's right, I'm probably just nostalgic for the days where I was more active, and the rest of the core posters were too. Heck, life moves on. Also, I dont know why I'm sticking my oar in here, I'm about to disappear into the wilds again and so couldn't get involved with anything until later this year anyway. So yeah, we need that core group of motivated posters with time to do their games justice, like we used to have. So I guess new members is what you need, just look how central some of the recent joiners have become. "New blood, and hide those inactive games!"  |
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Post by TheUdjat on May 22, 2008 7:38:41 GMT -5
Much as I like the Campaign Status summaries, Fangor, I think I'm edging towards just having active posts on the Campaign Board. I think if every DM takes care of their own games that we won't need a big summary sheet of everything going on - because let's face it, those things don't get updated but once every month or two, if we're lucky (I know I haven't updated the Active Character Roster in a long time). If we put all the inactive posts somewhere and only show active games on that boar, each one can provide their own neat little summary of what the game is, who's involved, etc. I think that'd work best. And I'm all for standardized post titles. I like the Community Board being at the top. I think the Out of Game section should go up there, too, so all the non-game stuff is all together. I don't even think we need to keep 'Rants' in the title, since we go on relatively few rants, and the word is kind of a negative connotation. Let's just call it 'Community' or 'Out of Character'. Or, hell, 'General Discussion'. (Oops, I was reading Vemu's list, not what was actually done. It already just says 'Community'. ) I think the other big thing we ought to do is revamp our specific 'welcome' thread. We have a faq, but it's really old, and it might be more useful to literally have a 'Read This First' thread. I may take a crack at it later today, if I get the chance. |
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Post by TheUdjat on May 22, 2008 7:59:20 GMT -5
I think some of the other information in the 'How to get Started' area needs to be purged, specifically the guidnace for character creation (since DMs tend to handle this individually, anyway). The rules also probably need an update, and the FAQ as well...
I'll think of some other things. Got an Orange Glow character to update right now.
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Post by VemuKhaham on May 22, 2008 8:47:45 GMT -5
Yep, if each DM handles his own Campaign Status thread, with a few standardized rules, and if all the other threads are removed, there will be no need for Fangor's list of active campaigns. It was useful while the campaign status boards were hard to oversee, but while information is a good thing, too many redundant threads holding the same info is overkill. And yes, the How to get started area needs a revision. A total revision, IMHO. I'm also wondering why the Out-of-Game boards are still there hanging on to the bottom of the boards. I'd say we can just close that board down, and put its content into the community board, together with what was formerly in the rants board. If that is possible technically, of course. And the big white letters, they catch the eye, but mine don't react favorably to it. But that's a matter of taste, perhaps.  |
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Post by TheZebraShakes™ on May 22, 2008 15:04:35 GMT -5
I think there's still a place for the out of game boards. If we just use it how it was meant to be used, it still makes sense, talking about the individual games without actually cluttering up the in game posts with lots of OOC. Treasure division and whatnot, just game type stuff. It makes sense, but it's just a little hidden down there now that everything's on the top, but it's alright in a way, cause that's not really a concern of the new players. they can familiarize themselves with it once they get started playing.
my opinion of course.
though we can still move some of the threads in there to other places just to clean it up again and start anew.
and yes, the getting started board certainly needs to be refreshed, and a lot of the threads either being removed entirely or just put into one big archive of old and out of date threads. But it's gonna take some time on all of our behalves.
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Post by TheZebraShakes™ on May 22, 2008 15:23:21 GMT -5
And there Should definately be a sub board in the Campaign status boards where we can put the status boards of retired games.
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Post by Japic on May 22, 2008 15:34:25 GMT -5
And there Should definately be a sub board in the Campaign status boards where we can put the status boards of retired games. So let it be written, so let it be done. Way to pull together on this guys. Its this kind of community wellness that makes this board a good place to be. |
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Post by TheZebraShakes™ on May 22, 2008 16:52:42 GMT -5
OK, I think I managed to clean up the campaign status board a bit. let me know if I moved someone's active game by accident. There were a few i left outside of the sub board 'cause I just wasn't sure of their status. So until we find out, I chose to play it safe.
EDIT, also, in the new to KMan's board or whatever it's called, I was thinking of compiling all of the links to a bunch of the stickied threads on other boards and just having one "Helpful Links" thread that way we can unsticky all of those topics which no one really needs to see at the top of the boards anymore and make way for new sticky-worthy topics like the getting to know you and introduction type stuff.
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Post by TheUdjat on May 22, 2008 17:30:11 GMT -5
A Great Awakening is closed
Shadows over Khorvaire is closed
WOD Core is closed
XCrawl is (newly) closed
...That's all the ones I noticed. I tried to rename mine with the scheme Japic suggested. Maybe we can retitle the others in similar fashion.
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Post by K Man on May 22, 2008 17:44:49 GMT -5
EDIT, also, in the new to KMan's board or whatever it's called, I was thinking of compiling all of the links to a bunch of the stickied threads on other boards and just having one "Helpful Links" thread that way we can unsticky all of those topics which no one really needs to see at the top of the boards anymore and make way for new sticky-worthy topics like the getting to know you and introduction type stuff. I dig this idea Shakes. One Stickied thread in the new to the board area that links them to where they need to be. Very smart idea! As for the out-of-game board, I too feel it needs a new home and some cleaning. I'll dig out what posts I can and move them to the community board. They should bury themselves because of age and it won't affect our total post count. Like Japic says, I'm proud to be a part of a community like this.  |
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Post by Rojito on May 22, 2008 17:55:32 GMT -5
Wow i am gone for two days and 2 of my games get closed and my boards changed  lol j/k i like the ideas here guys, and wish i had been available to help with the early thought process. It seems like what we are missing now is just the Advertisement, someone to go out there and notify people about the Kmans Play-by-Post Initiative. Playing for free, whenever their scheduel allows them to, and with such a great group of gamers, are all huge draws. |
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Post by TheZebraShakes™ on May 22, 2008 18:26:54 GMT -5
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lol j/k i like the ideas here guys, and wish i had been available to help with the early thought process. It seems like what we are missing now is just the Advertisement, someone to go out there and notify people about the Kmans Play-by-Post Initiative. Playing for free, whenever their scheduel allows them to, and with such a great group of gamers, are all huge draws.