Thread Background Welcome to the second edition of ODOAPAI. The first Pickle thread was released during the summer, while inactivity and community managers were on people's minds. If you're like me, you've probably felt the activity tip up a little bit on the scale, but it's nowhere near where it could be. Because of that, I've decided to return to my lurker mode and seek out the topics regarding the site and its activity, as well as some topics regarding things unrelated to activity. We need to look back on how we got from the summer to now, the winter. We need explore what we have done, and where we need to go next as a community. We need to use the power we have to make AG strong again. We've made progress, but we need to continue paving the path.
Armor Games, I give you The User's View.
In the second edition, discussion will be the primary focus as opposed to large OP presented matters. As of such, any and all participants are encouraged to contribute anything at all.
Armor Games Background Armor Games has started its onslaught of AG3 updates, which are essentially updates created to modernize the site. We have been promised updates to our messaging, AP, game, and forum systems, as well as some miscellaneous things. As these promises began becoming common knowledge to the common user, the AG city has almost started bustling again. No longer can you come to know every active user closely, and perhaps you like it this way, but we still need to raise activity. We can't let go of what we want.
Staff Changes Part 1: The Ferret team Ferret has been added alongside the current Armor Games administrators. But he didn't come alone. Tasselfoot, boppins, and heyitsleo came with him. When the "Ferret team" came about, the community was on the verge of death. Bugs, inactivity, spam, uncertainty, and general insanity rampaged throughout the community, and so the Ferret team was immediately put to work fixing bugs, welcome newcomers, banning spammers, and releasing information regarding AG3. As can be assumed, everything felt fine and dandy, until we finally realized what we needed to do next: keep paving the road back to success.
Part 2: Moderation As one of the first major bringings done by Ferret, the moderation team chose to promote MrDayCee to the rank of moderator, adding to some much needed assistance with taking care of the community. Not only that, but many of the moderators came to being a common sight again. No longer did we have 1/2 moderators, but nearly the entire team has shown at least a hint that they were still around, still lurking. Could it be the hope that the site had been saved?
Part 3: John Long-time veteran developer John switched to Armor Games' rival, Kongregate. When asked if this would be a problem, most people would use "John's games are gone" as a go-to response. Not necessarily true (won't go into specifics), because John's leaving was more psychological than literal problem. It hints towards uncertainty in the future of the people who control the site. What will we do without John? he was a piece of Armor Games that gave it its rich, iconic flavor. People came to the site to play games by John. Now, what if Kongregate sucks up the benefits of having an awesome developer instead of us?
Armor Games v3 While we have Ferret and his team, we are still in the dark on multiple issues concerning the new version of the site, AG3. Updates are undoubtedly less frequent than Cormyn's reign, and the community needs to know the absolute truth when it comes to the subject. What is being developed right now? What is only promised and what is planned? When can we expect more updates? What is higher on the priority list? Who is creating the updates specifically? How will they affect the site? Will they be major enough to help us continue down the path? Obviously, we need to have more answers.
Improvements With the coming of the Ferret team, multiple improvements have been made to the site as per Dan's and the community's request.
Bugs fixes The deadly Rogue Glitch has been cured. The activity button is repaired. The cache updates. These are only some of the hundreds of awesome bugs fixes the team has made, essentially making the entire site bug-free, aside from a minor hiccup here and there.
Seasonal Armatars Seasonal Armatars have been reinstated to assist with Armor Game's spirit, as well as giving the community something to do. Not only that, but fortunately this shows progress is being made, not only on our part but on the staff's as well.
Convenient/modernized layout The site's layout has been improved upon, allowing for simpler reading, and frankly, a more modern feel. No longer does the site hold the same exact feel it has had for years, but some pages have underwent so many changes it looks like a completely different site. New change brings for more activity. The Forum Games and Newcomers section have also been granted AP for users posting.
a. Community page The community page has had the addition of new sections, as well as the change of unused/inaccurate/outdated sections in order to allow for easier reading.
MMO games The addition of the MMO category has brought a completely new breed of Armor Games citizens. It has expanded Armor Games from a simple flash gaming site, to a global, major MMO home. This has led to new people coming to the site.
Conclusion The path is still being paved to success, but must be continued in order to reach maximum awesomeness!
Achievements will be worth getting when they make it more creative, but this is a start. I think they should've kept the beta open to test things on there.
For those wondering about armatars, Ferret said they may show most of them to everyone, but the high ones may become legacy. As in, you won't be able to see the 10,000 pack.
Well they really still need to fix a lot of it up. But on the contrary of what Ghost said. I think it's better they released it now without publicly stating it yet. This way way more people have feedback for them.
I hope they do make it only 1 row of quests though or at least the option to show how many rows you want. With this update more should come soon enough..
I hope they do make it only 1 row of quests though or at least the option to show how many rows you want. With this update more should come soon enough..
I know it. If someone completes 50 quests, then their profile will look like heck.
I agree, what is the point of the show all quests button if they all show up anyway?
What? I have all the quests (aside for some legacy and one other that just isn't showing on my profile). So the show all quests button takes you away from your profile, where most users probably don't have all the quests, to the page that actually shows you all the quests.
Now I can understand the thought that we can already see the quests' pictures so what is the point in obtaining the quest if you already get to see what it looks like. Well, you get the quest so it will show on your profile and you can showcase the "mad skillz" you have. Also, the other sites let you see what the badge pictures look like before also.
Hehehe, someone acknowledged my opinion enough to ask me to respond. Now I can be a cranky hipster.
On the Ferret team: Ferret seems like a good guy. He needs a bit of time to settle in, but he's cool. My only complaints are that, well, he's different. He's not Carlie. Things aren't the same as they were before. I'm not saying that's bad. But it hurts. It hurts. That, and my plan to become BFFs with Ferret haven't really come to fruition yet. I've been too busy to talk to him much. Oh well.
It's no secret that I've had reservations about the new moderators. Frank was always cool, because he's awesome, and because he was on CT... although he hasn't been on much these days and I miss him
And MrDayCee, or whatever his name is, seems pretty cool. I just found his induction to the team jarring for three main reasons. 1. I didn't know who the heck he was. Likely my fault, for not being here much... but, like, does he not post on WERP? How am I supposed to judge him? I LIKE Nemo because of his WERP content (even if we don't always agree). I like Strop for what he says in WERP. Even what he says in AMW is cool because of his analytical edge. I detest Asherlee based on, that's right, WERP content. 2. To my understanding, the model of mod team additions has been altered slightly under the new admins. That is, the mod team doesn't or didn't unanimously approve potential applicants or necessarily know them before their addition to the mod team. I don't care about pragmatic issues, it just makes the community feel different. Not bad. Just different. And that hurts. 3. The new mods aren't the old mods. Okay let's be honest. The new mods aren't Strop. Frank is really an awesome guy. But... well, I don't know if you guys have talked to him much, but he's just a man.
John. Oh John. It hurts my soul. Right in the feels. John was one of the things that made AG great. And he's gone. I'm not saying he shouldn't have left. But he was an important part of who we were. Of our identity. Our pride. We were proud that AG was John's site. That's why it hurts that he left.
And of course adding insult to injury, he left for Kong. Again, I am NOT saying he shouldn't have gone. But Kong is worse than AG. The community is horrible. It's not a petty rivalry thing. It is to some, I'm sure, just like how some SC2 players hate LoL because of a stupid rivalry thing.
Kong isn't bad because it's not AG. Kong is bad because it's bad. LoL doesn't suck because it's not SC2. It sucks because it sucks. It just hurts to see us lose something that made us great... to empower a crap community like Kong. Man I hope there are some LoL players who are mad now.
One last thing to cover. Quests. They're awful. Let me explain why. 1. They look hideous on your page. 2. They're populist nonsense appealing to the lowest common denominator. 3. and most important: the system was implemented before I achieved gold king status. No one thought to ****ing warn me this was gonna happen so I could boost my activity real quick to make it?
No, I'm not "just butthurt." I am more butthurt than you could possibly imagine.
So to sum up what Xzeno said: He hates change, dislikes Kong and Quests, misses John.
Well dear Xzeno. Not everyone goes to CT. Plus I cleared my cookies and cache and could not get back in. Stupid pH being the only one in the room at the time. Where was I. O yes. Ferret is nice. I agree with everything you said about him. He seems less strict than Ian. I do not know him that well either but he will talk to you....sometimes. If you were here more you would know MrDayCee. He was pretty much the whole Popular Media section. Also not all mods go to the politics/religion place that I see as hell. Never seen Cen there when he was a mod. You did not say anything about Zoph. Also John leaving sucks. Never been to Kong so I cannot rate it. Quests are better but they mess up the profile. Other than that I love them.
My only complaints are that, well, he's different. He's not Carlie. Things aren't the same as they were before. I'm not saying that's bad. But it hurts. It hurts.
You are nostalgic, and you have just proven so. While I cannot make the same comparison you can, I can still say that I think Ferret is a good addition.
To my understanding, the model of mod team additions has been altered slightly under the new admins. That is, the mod team doesn't or didn't unanimously approve potential applicants or necessarily know them before their addition to the mod team. I don't care about pragmatic issues, it just makes the community feel different. Not bad. Just different. And that hurts.
Here's the way it used to be:
[quote=cormyn]In a nutshell, candidates are presented to the entire Moderator team, and are reviewed thoroughly by an Admin. The Moderator team decides unanimously (the exception being users who are on hiatus/holidays) on whether to accept the user or not; a negative response could either be "this user should never be a moderator" (and give reasons why) or "let's check back in 3-6 months". If an affirmative decision is made, an Admin user will Email the user asking if they'll accept the role and responsibilities. If the user accepts, the Admin user will promote them to become a probationary Moderator. We guide probationary Moderators for a little while and then release them into the wild.[/quote]
I don't see how MrDayCee's addition was "not unanimous". If it wasn't unanimous, the policy must have been changed by the Ferret team. As for my opinion on MrDayCee, I think he has done well as a mod so far.
They look hideous on your page.
Quests are still in their early stages and will most likely look better as they are updated. One suggestion would be to limit the number of quests shown in a profile so that profiles aren't excessively long.
the system was implemented before I achieved gold king status. No one thought to ****ing warn me this was gonna happen so I could boost my activity real quick to make it?
You have just shown that you cared about AP. If no updates were promised, I would prefer the old system, but the admins have promised updates to the quest system, most likely including points for quests.
