Forums → The Tavern → Armor Games Community Activity Initiative
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Welcome! Please grab a cup of coffee, and one of those delicious donuts most kindly donated by R2.
As you can guess from the title, this is yet another attempt at solving the AG activity problem. This problem has been ever present since late 2010. Many reasons as to the cause have been presented, ranging from a much delayed release of AG3, to lacking of a community manager, or the end of the flash gaming era.
I do have a couple of ideas concerning activity and how to increase it. Whether these are the keys to solving the issues at hand or not is unbeknownst to me, but I most certainly feel it is definitely worth the effort.
I'm not going into details - yet. Firstly, I'm going to need a few volunteers. More the better, but not more then 20 (20, yeah right...) Don't volunteer then become inactive that would not be beneficial to anything.
- 428 Replies
I think Strop's point was that it's redundant to post that you're ignoring something, because by failing to mention it in a post, it should be obvious that you're ignoring it.
I posted it partly to get people to realize how stupid it was, thus the smearing it all over your friend comment.
>_> Ahem
*cough* well where is your thread and junk when was the last update?!
Dear Diary: Today I learned that the reason no one has commented on my poetry thread in a few months is because apparently I no longer exist. Other than that, great day.
Yeah this is me. But considering you're blackmailing me to post in your thread.... > >
Okay so I have 2 kids in the AMW with me but still! We all know how dead it is.
*cough* well where is your thread and junk when was the last update?!
Like 8 days ago. I've just had shiz distracting me from it >_>
Okay so I have 2 kids in the AMW with me but still! We all know how dead it is.
Emp is still alive gurl
but the community activity is a concern of their (I hope) but I don't think it ranges very high on their to do list.
True, it may be a concern yet something they are not fixing. But the Admins need to take into consideration that the site alone needs help. Activity is fine for now but will constantly fluctuate due to the main factor being the site needs help. It's summer time so the site doesn't have to deal with all these people disappearing because school is taking up there life. But it will happen 2 months from now. The admins are working to put in place some ideas but Quests isn't cutting it. Its a lot of pressure I have to say.
Corymn or whatever
Corymn was a mod, not an admin.
But considering the most active admin status I have seen is Ferret and for a time
The reason Ferret is so active is because he is community manager. He needs to post and communicate to community users what goes and what doesn't. The other admins manage the code for the site and look for glitches. They get paid to work, not talk to users.
I KNOW of the other admins, but they all fix the tech parts of the site, not the community.
The reason the Admins are like this is because they bit off more then they can chew with AG3. It took up so much of their time they had little time left on a working day to manage this site. Now that they are working to bring it here, they are slowly integrating pieces of AG3 into AG2 (as Ferret himself told me. Quests being one of the AG3 pieces being incorporated to the site).
But that's why AG3 beta existed. It's still in action, I think.
AG3 Beta was so users could experience what the admins were so hush hush about. And no, AG3 Beta is no longer in testing. As you can see here the AG3 Beta link is dead. That is because the concept of AG3 was destroyed and they are putting in the pieces of AG3 into the current version of Armor Games. As I explained in the above comment.
I think a big issue of activity is just that there is so much in the community. People like to be a part of something new. I think that if/when AG3 comes out, brand new forums would make activity skyrocket.
The admins will never make AG3, but site changes will be made. To be honest, we the users have no idea what the admins do on a daily basis to support AG's future aside from glitch monitoring and bringing in MMO's and Quests. Thats why I think Ferret (or another admin) should post the progress the site is making. I see no progress actually.
No one here currently does poetry or writing or art or music.
Pang does poetry. Daleks does drawing. I think that forum is fine the way it is currently.
Zimmerman trial
The last few posts on WERP were mostly conspiracy theories. The Zimmerman trial was only recent. WERP use to host news subjects but is in a bit of a slump. Not in activity however.
It doesn't just have to be a well thought out post to attract attention.
Oh but it does. It's just like in the movies, build it and they will come. If they don't come the admins will make it nice, put out a spread or something.
Calculation of each section won't matter if the entire AGCAI or whatever official thing this is supposed to be isn't even made up of members in each area.
It is made up of users in each area. Pretty much. Pang is all over the place, I am a frequent WERP, Tavern, and Popular Media poster, daleks post mainly in WERP, Art forum, and the Tavern and many other post all over the place too. It isn't hard to tell the forums is falling apart. Calculations not only would give an exact chart of how the forums are doing but will be able to keep up on patterns such as dead threads floating about, disinterested subjects, and just plain people don't care. With these calculations not only can we make the best possible move to promote activity but make sure it doesn't happen again with the help of Ferret.
And AGCAI is a guild with a registered trademark and copyright.
It's like hearing a new song. It's new, so you listen to it more because maybe you don't know all the lyrics yet. But when you've been listening to the same song over and over again on repeat for the past week, it gets old and you find a new song. It doesn't mean that the song wasn't good, it just means that it's worn out its worth.
Before you can make a new song you need pre production, pricing, planning, possibly new instruments production, label finding, then touring. You can't just go up on a stage and say "Screw it! Everythings old. Lets just make something new and put it out there people will love it man!". We are going through the production phase I'd say.
Corymn was a mod, not an admin.
Wrong. Cormyn was an admin.
Pang does poetry. Daleks does drawing. I think that forum is fine the way it is currently.
No no..it used to be quite bustling..and now is down to a few of us keeping our stuff alive with the occasional random contest entry and few and far between comments on works.
Zimmerman trial
The last few posts on WERP were mostly conspiracy theories. The Zimmerman trial was only recent. WERP use to host news subjects but is in a bit of a slump. Not in activity however.
WEPR was actually fairly dead for a while..then KnightDeclan happened.
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pang's proposal:
So, I was thinking about this..and while different ideas are being thrown about..I came up with one of my own. Instead of figuring out what we need to do to create activity..why don't we all just do it.
I'm finally speaking up like this because I'm just getting tired of all the ideas with no success because there is no backing on our own accord. We are all trying to think of ways to get newbies to participate, but as Skater pointed out...why would a newbie participate if we are barely doing so? We shouldn't rely on others to create activity when we all are perfectly able to do so.
This leads me to my idea..something I've been doing since I first arrived on the scene. gasp, that's right..this entire time, pang has been working on a project to increase activity. I'll title it too:
"ost in threads project".
We are all trying to come up with awesome ideas and awesome threads to increase activity, but during our babbling about, threads left and right are dying off and falling into obscurity. Since I came into the community, I always tried my best to comment on any sort of thread..I would find a way to comment in a way that still pertained to the thread..so that way it would stay alive. If I commented, it would come back to life, and hopefully others would comment as well and keep it alive.
But then, people always find excuses. "I don't feel like my input would matter", "I don't really know what to say", etc. And to that I ask..so what? Plenty of times I have commented on threads feeling like my input would be overlooked or ignored, plenty of times I have commented on threads not really knowing what to say..but I would do it anyways. I would keep the thread alive, and this..give activity a reason to stay.
Creating new threads is great, but don't forget about the others..keep them alive. Give new users multiple threads to post in, instead of just a few new ones. So many great threads have been lost in obscurity because others felt like they had nothing to contribute, and because of feelings like this..the number of threads just keeps thinning out.
My actions can be attested for. It was common, some time back, for sections to have my name under "last post by" for the entire first page+..and that was because I commented in as many random threads as I could. This kept these threads alive, gave users something to comment off of, something to build off of to keep the activity rolling.
So, I implore you all..instead of sitting here in a group circle tossing the ball around to come up with ideas..keep the ideas rolling, but go out there and comment on some threads and make our own activity.
tl;dr: Go post. Stop being confused about how activity dropped while at the same time not posting anything and letting threads die away.
daleks post mainly in WERP
...................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................How high are you? I think I have posted there about 3 times ever since I made my AG account.
To go based on what pang said. Make threads, even if you think they suck. That doesn't mean you have to spam make threads just to say "Hey guys! I am making threads!" but if you have an idea make one. It might not work (RIP Nerdist thread) or it might be big (General Relationship Thread) You just don't know until you try.
I was wondering if I should post here at all, because I'm a new member and all, but reading pang's post up there about just posting was really inspiring.
I think by now most of you have seen me, and a bunch of you have talked to me, and I think I'm here to stay. So why not get involved in something that has to do with inspiring other people to join?
So, here's my two cents on the matter:
Forums are dying.
I am on a few different forums, of different types, and all I can say is, the ones that encourage community are dying. One forum, a mainly informative forum (there is no "forum games" or "talk about anything" sub-forum) is fine, because it doesn't necessarily encourage community.
Another one I'm on though, almost completely is a community forum. In this one, there are large parts where a newbie can just start talking in, like the video games, quests, walkthroughs, etc.
But the Tavern, WEPR, AMW, are mainly focused towards people who are here to stay. It's not a very "jump in even though I'm a n00b" kinda place. Forum games are. That how I jumped in. DAPRO noticed me and said Hi. First Armor Gamer I talked to. Then I looked at the WEPR a month, two months later, and got into a few debates. But I really got into this place when I saw the mod/comm thread, and I talked about it there.
But enough about me and back to my former statement. Forums are dying.
How many of you could communicate with Facebook or Twitter or Google+ or anything else? How much easier would it be if instead of a forum, AG used a social media site for it all? I don't know your answers, but I do know something: with the advance of social media sites, and the increasing popularity of social media sites among younger people (14-), forums are becoming something older kids/adults use. How many of you are under 15? Again, I don't know.
Not as many people are appealed by the community of a forum, when it's so much easier to just use Google+, FB, Twitter, and others such sites. If someone else is on, they can instantly chat with them, and not have to worry about the hassle of waiting for their message to submit, or anything.
This same exact thing is happening on another forum I'm on, with almost equal community feeling. Not as much awkward marriage things, and fewer drug conversations, but that due to the community being mainly 10-16 and a few older, instead of 13+, most people being 16-25.
So, while there are other reasons why I believe this forum may not be as newbie welcoming, I'll go over them later. Now I need some sleep.
BTW, is there a character limit for posts? Most forums have them, for spam checking, but I've seen some long posts here.
BTW, is there a character limit for posts? Most forums have them, for spam checking, but I've seen some long posts here.
There is no character limit in posting. However, there appears to be an occasional cutoff glitch that will randomly cut off posts.
BTW, is there a character limit for posts? Most forums have them, for spam checking, but I've seen some long posts here.
There is a character limit after which your comment will blank out, but you shouldn't be able to reach it normally. Nobody types that much unless they're writing a novel or spamming copy & paste.
No one here currently does poetry or writing or art or music.
I guess my pictures aren't worth posting.... Sniff.
There is a character limit after which your comment will blank out, but you shouldn't be able to reach it normally. Nobody types that much unless they're writing a novel or spamming copy & paste.
I think Sal reached it once. That was really weird.
Forums are dying.
Thank you for being so mild about it.
I've been more or less sitting and watching the fireworks blow up and the soldiers run. I guess I should probably step in now that things are getting a little interesting. Naturally, I advise all of you to read my post in its entirety even if it might be a little longwinded and extensive. It'll save you and me time in the future and it'll prevent you from looking like an idiot. I'll probably begin responding to posts using the quote system primarily but if needed I can switch to a more freehanded writing technique to express my woes and yays pertaining to this thread.
AGCAI rocks! =D
Armor Games Community Activity Initiative ® ©
I'm going to start with this one because I think it's leading to a lot of needless poison that just ends up circulating through the community. Most of you have said that complaining, *****ing, whining and moaning are pointless so I think it's time to kill the dog before it really bites. If you excuse my horrible imagery, I mean threads like the AGCAI and the Pickle threads need to die and they need to go away. This is one of our biggest problems and we've dug our own graves with them. Yes, threads like these have helped, but we absolutely need to switch from the "moaning and whining" nonsense and go back to actually using the Forums for what they were intended for. If there's a need for a thread like this, sure, we can make a type of thread where users can complain about the lack of activity and whatnot, but we don't need to go crazy and go all AGCAI on ourselves. It's hypocritical and annoying, if you allow me to say so. It's going to sound pretentious to say so, but I think I may be the culprit for this. But please excuse a well-meaning newbie for the sake of the community.
So, I think the best way to kill this plague is to conclude our business here, have the thread locked, and remember to always do our best to post and make threads and yadda yadda whatever. The AGCAI needs to die and we need to stop referring ourselves to this. It's become but a faulty emergency plan to increase activity for a couple of days, and then it becomes a serious burden.
Can you guys please come up with some ideas? This whole thing can't be resting on me you know. I need some inspiration or suggestions...
This brings up another thing. If you have ideas or suggestions, just tell Ferret. I feel bad having to burden him with our wants (and sometimes needs) because many of them are obviously not going to happen soon. A friendly reminder once in a while is all that's needed. The best thing to do, in my mind, is to occasionally ask Ferret when these AG3 updates are coming and what they'll be like and etc. Ferret operates differently than cormyn (OOOOH I brought up that evil name again didn't I? Live with it) and he isn't going to do a public release for every little thing. Ferret is more intimate with the users he watches.
It would be good because we have a relevant issue found. No cause that can be solved is found however. Its progress none the less. Currently we can't do something amazing like take a entire summer camp of kids and promote AG community activity so they make accounts. So anything small is worth something.
In that case, take the small stuff into your own hands! Get away from the big stuff and do what you can to help. We don't need to dramatically grab the administrators and force their hands this way or that. We need to use the Forums for what they were made for: fun!
This action however is null and void because we have an solution but no real cause to the issue that can be solved. Like I said, If we give them an issue it will just swim in with the rest of the sea of issues.
DEAR LORD WE HAVE AN EPIPHANY. I'm sorry if it feels like I'm singling you out, Mino, but this needs to be changed. You only represent a large demographic of AG thinkers.
But going back to my point, we need to nicely ask Ferret what's going on instead of going crazy.
xeano idea is simple: Lets say we take Ferret, make him come up with a general calculation for the forum activity. These calculations (per forum lets say) will find a root cause to the issue. For instance:
There are 15 forums on Armor Games. Each forum host a subject. We find the forums that lack in activity, where we have to come up with an estimate, then observe the subjects being made in these forums to see what is wrong, then fix spread AGCAI's Intiative in the areas that are relevant for the moment being.
The only thing we can do however is make more interesting posts, but the root cause of the issue itself roots from the fact that people prefer sites such as Addicting Games or Newgrounds. AG3 would have put a new look for AG that would have attracted some people. But not changing the site for 5 years and it running into constant glitches (in the past), spam (which was common in the past) and lack of unintuitive ideas to attract users (in the past again) and maintaining users is luck in itself.
User account activity seems to be fine. Users are active but not going to the forums. And the forum posts that are being made are not working out so well. WERP seems to be the haven for conspiracy theories, the popular media is just as good as the media being put out, games is fine thanks to the eighth generation gaming consoles being released, and the Tavern is just random. We have issues. Calculation will help.
With all of this, lets just do a BETA test to see if calculations work? It doesn't hurt and its effort being put into the site.
I could go on and on all day about why this wouldn't work but I don't think I will. Ask if you want I guess.
Or, we have Forum Games..which is thriving. Partly due to its "quick fix" for posts..and partly due to its quirky games.
And partly because of its general taste.
No one here currently does poetry or writing or art or music.
Guys, how about we not make fun of Emily and instead go off on her thought? She's saying we need to present some stuff in the AMW. It's easy and we can do it ourselves! It's using the Forums for what they were intended for! It's fun!
but the community activity is a concern of their (I hope) but I don't think it ranges very high on their to do list.
For the sake of the coherency of this post I won't delve into this. Maybe later.
The reason Ferret is so active is because he is community manager. He needs to post and communicate to community users what goes and what doesn't. The other admins manage the code for the site and look for glitches. They get paid to work, not talk to users.
So what's the problem here? It sounds like everything's working fine. Wait. No it isn't. They're not doing enough, are they? Believe me, they're doing all we need them to do. The other admins are great. We don't need to touch on that subject.
Pang does poetry. Daleks does drawing. I think that forum is fine the way it is currently.
It really isn't. The AMW creates a nationality AG can get familiar with. The AMW is our biggest and best tool for creating a good user base and familiar traits everywhere. It's used to create a family, basically.
And AGCAI is a guild with a registered trademark and copyright.
Cool story. It really should be killed though. (See above)
why don't we all just do it.
This boy has the right idea! (See above)
the ones that encourage community are dying.
It's simple... we kill the AGCAI... (See above)
I tried to make this post nice and short. I'll be happy to elaborate on anything if needed. READ THE WHOLE **** THING BEFORE YOU RESPOND PLEASE.
I think Sal reached it once. That was really weird.
I've reached it twice actually. The first time was the OP of the first Pickle thread. I had it locked and I reposted a trimmed version a few minutes later. The second time was in a WEPR thread about Christianity or some shizz. I don't remember exactly.
Guys, how about we not make fun of Emily and instead go off on her thought? She's saying we need to present some stuff in the AMW. It's easy and we can do it ourselves! It's using the Forums for what they were intended for! It's fun!
^ ^ ^ ^ ^ ^ ^ ^ ^ ^ ^ ^ ^ ^ ^ ^ ^ ^ ^
and a big whopping ^ to his whole post.
I think that forum is fine the way it is currently.
You must be new here. /Condescending Wonka
What? Pshhhhhhhhhhhh fst was nothing but a clever, humorous, dinosaur drawing little scamp. Pay him no mind.
I love it!
Thread is locked!