Thread Background Coming from a long-time lurker born in 2008, I have noticed that Armor Games is facing a recent "slump" of activity. In other terms, Armor Games is becoming inactive. In my quest for answers, I've contacted several Armor Games users, ranging from new users to veterans. Thinking that I gave people something to think about for the day, Ernie15 gave me a bold idea to convert these ideas into a thread where one can give his/her ideas on the matter instead of letting this issue be small-talk. In many's minds, this is an issue that needs to be addressed to immediately. There have been threads like this, but this is the central HUB of what we view of Armor Games today.
Armor Games, I give you The User's View.
Armor Games Background AG3, a major update to the Armor Games world, has been in development for around 2 years. There are tons of beta testers for the website. Prior to and starting at the development of AG3, Armor Games was once a bustling "city," if you will, of ideas traveling by means of public forum posting to comments to one another, or "small talk." Many of these users have left for reasons we will discuss and are being replaced by users we will later discuss.
Staff Changes Late 2011, Cormyn, a very popular admin, resigned from his duties and became a regular user. He was somewhat replaced with Justin Royster, aka username jroyster22.
Part 1: Cormyn Cormyn was undoubtedly known for his ability to be publicly active within the community and was often described as strict. As strict as he was, he kept the trash out and helped shape our modern-day Armor Games. He wrote code for the community, laid down a lot of the rules, appointed moderators alongside the moderation team, and, short and sweet, held Armor Games together. In many people's opinions, he was the administrator's community face of Armor Games. Once Cormyn left, jroyster22, alongside his duties with AG3, became the one to contact if you needed help. Justin Royster had big shoes to fill, and so far, he's done a moderate job. He prefers to contact via email, taking away from that on-site communication charm. In my opinion, Justin Royster has been a little vague with his duties. I and others have complained that Armor Games needs a new head, and if Justin Royster was a little more open, we'd have that strong, great leader. I am not criticizing his work- I understand he's busy. I'm just asking that he showed a little more of his face.
Part 2: Inactivity Sadly, many of Armor Games' moderators have been caught up with daily life to successfully fulfill their duties on a daily basis. Similarly, admins are busy preparing AG3 for its release and have a lot to do. I understand they have lives as well. Many other new members have complained that it is impossible to get in touch with anyone on the staff team. Cormyn had written moderator-selection software, and many are thinking, if it is still available after Cormyn's resignation, perhaps it could be used to find another addition to the moderator team. Freakenstein has been a fantastic addition, but I feel as though we need more. I'm not going to name names because I respect what our moderators do; I feel as though we need more. Maybe it's time we eliminated the "small staff team" tradition for the time being until we recover. As for admins, we don't need a lot, but just one public face to get contact with would be fantastic.
Migration I know AG3 is going to be very different. I know forum activity has sunk. I know your friends have left. Because of multiple things, many users, newbies and veterans alike, have moved on to different websites. This is not going to help our inactivity problem. It will only make it worse. I am not only asking you all to stay, but I am asking you to help out. We can't sit around and let our users leave. Part of it is our problem; we can make things interesting again. We can make people want to spend all of their time here. We can show people Armor Games is the best darn website out there!
Generation Transition Jeol brought this to my attention and it struck me. What if the reason so many people are leaving is because they are older? Now, some people will never change, but others will grow and move on. And, who replaces them?
Part 1: Veterans It's summer. You've finished school and want to enjoy the outdoors. You've finished school and have to work. You've finished school and want to try something new. Whatever it is, whether you've gotten too old for Armor Games, or have something else taking up your time, you can't visit your favorite website in the world. You know what? That's quite OK. Just remember to drop by once in a while and talk to your old friends. Many users are finding that they are having difficulties connecting with new people if they leave right away. Sadly, this leaves many users bored and craving for a good conversation.
Part 2: New Users The size of Armor Games' user list is rising exponentially- it's skyrocketing! Most would think this would create more activity, wouldn't it? Frankly, no. Many games require an account for online saving to work, and the new generation replacing the previous one seems to be filled with people who join, stay active for a day, and quit dealing with the forums, leaving a large gap to be filled by no one.
Armor Games v3 As mentioned earlier, AG3 is being developed. By my count, there are currently 5 admins developing it. Unfortunately, users are complaining because there is little or no status updates on what's going on. Not to sound demanding, but more frequent updates could make the waiting all the easier. Also, the new achievement system may scare veterans who are used to and have gained recognition by the current AP system. AG3 will also result in a clean slate for the forums... By deleting all of the material there. Of course, much of the material is repeatable, but many veterans have good memories of posting here.
Conclusion We've lost the face of the admins, Cormyn, and would like to have another public face again. Many moderators are busy with their lives and some more help would be fantastic. A lot of people have given up on Armor Games and have outright quit. Old faces are being replaced with people who aren't as devoted the site. AG3 is coming with big changes, but has gone very quiet recently.
~Salvidian
Those who contributed to this information in some way, shape, or form -jeol -Ernie15 -daleks -Skeleton_Pilot -Cenere -GhostOfMatrix -MrDayCee -johnmerz
The 'AG Forums Falling Apart?' has been at the top for quite a while, and they haven't even seen it yet (or have, and have ignored it)
I think they're ignoring it. I bump it once or twice a day, or whenever it falls to the middle/bottom of the page, but none of the staff have posted there.
Has anyone tried to use the 'Private Feedback' button on the feedback bar?
I don't even see the feedback bar anymore. I installed an extension a few days ago and it must've blocked it.
I got a response from Morrison. Seems like he'll be the one updating us about AG3 and such, that is if he gets more solid information. I don't want to get everyone's hopes up, but this is possible since he responds to on-site comments.
Can I borrow your tin foil hat? I need to pack some lunches.
Here, take mine.
I got a response from Morrison. Seems like he'll be the one updating us about AG3 and such, that is if he gets more solid information. I don't want to get everyone's hopes up, but this is possible since he responds to on-site comments.
Too late, I'm as ecstatic as I could be about someone actually telling us something.
I got a response from Morrison. Seems like he'll be the one updating us about AG3 and such, that is if he gets more solid information. I don't want to get everyone's hopes up, but this is possible since he responds to on-site comments.
I wouldn't assume anything yet. Even Justin responds to on site comments occasionally, but he has yet to update us about AG3, or anything else for that matter.
Pfft, tinfoil. Please. What do I look like, some crazy paranoid homeless man?
I only wear solid titanium. Impenetrable by thought waves and far more stylish.
You will be a paranoid homeless man if you spend all your money on titanium as a form of clothing.
I prefer brushed stainless steel myself, due to its ability to avoid corrosion, and you can use a scotch pad on it without worrying about scratching it =D.
well i have an idea for how to increase forumers, go to your freinds profiles find users that they are friends with that don't go to the forums and talk to one or two of them and eventually bring up the forums, if they don't go on them find more. i'll be doing for awhile in a hope that someone will come out as a regular in the forums
Background Over the last few days I've asked a few people some questions concerning the forums, and today I have took them and analyzed them. Here are the results.
The Answers Here are the answers I received, in the raw format that they were.
I post the most in the Support and Suggestions, and AG3 Forums. I got the most AP from commenting. I go around talking to people around the website. I like staying in AG because it is one of the best gaming communities and also a social community. You can't find a great place anywhere besides Armor Games!
Oh ok! =) What made you join the site?: I always liked Armor Games, I knew the site when it first started up (I might have know the site 1 month after it was made) but at the time I was not interested in being a member, plus I was to young. Many years later, I revisited AG because this site I thought was very good. When I found out I could be a member, nothing stopped me. What do you like doing here?: Making new friends. I love talking to people from many different countries that share an interest with me. It makes me see that no matter were you are in the world, we are all the same! What is your opinion of AG's current state?: Very good, not many spammers come here and the "Porn Issue" AG had was a bit of a bummer. But the people community were nice enough to tell everyone how to fix this. Not many sites have this. =) That is all!
Of course I will answer yo questions! I plan on staying because I enjoy the community here, and I wanna see what all goes down when (if) AG3 ever comes out. I'd like to be a part of that, too. The people :< I don't know as many of the new people, and all of my older friends have gotten lives D': So I miss a whole bunch of them. I think it's kinda sad. You have the older kids, like me, and they all miss their buds and how great AG was before, and then you have the younger kids with little to no restraint, as well as little to no guidance. They don't see how awesome AG was before, because most of the good stuff is gone. I do hope it will get better, though. :
"Why did you come back to AG?" I decided to go back just for old times sake. I wanted to see how AG was doing. I also had some extra time was I was like "What the heck, Let's go to AG!" I enjoy the community here. People are cool. But now, the oldies are moving on and there isn't much left. "What do you miss about nostalgic AG? What's better now?" I miss everything. The activity was at it's highest back then. At peak times, there would be a post literally almost every minute. We had more mods active as well. They'd be keeping the AMW up. Mods took control of the AMW (in a good way). So it was basically the forum section where you can just hang out. So far, to be honest, I haven't seen anything that is noticeably better than the old AG. "What is your opinion of AG's current state?" AG isn't doing very good. I can say that. I don't think it's our fault. The staff hasn't given us any more content on AG3. And it's becoming more and more doubtful day after day. Maybe because Cormyn left, there was no more management on AG3 and they blew it off. That could be why. But I'm not entirely sure. They really need to find another community admin. We need someone of high quality to bring back AG to the golden ages. Like the forum error that's been occurring. We need a person who can inform us about what's going on. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ You can ask me more question if you want to and I don't care if I'm anonymous or not. Lurking for 4 years? What of life kept you from making an account?
Haha, sure! Q: What do you think of being a poetry judge? A: I like to do what I can to help out any part of the community, and I do enjoy reading the various poetry styles of the AG user body. I'm always willing to step in where and when I am needed! Q: Where do you like posting? A: I'll post anywhere I see an interesting thread, but I tend to hover most around the tavern and AMW. Although because of the most recent forum error regarding forum pages, I've found myself coming online less and less often! Q: How do you feel about AG's current state? A: I'm not content with it. The first few weeks I was here, the forums still showed times instead of dates for the last post... it's only gotten worse from there. At this point, only one thing is crossing all of our minds... WHERE are the ADMINS?!? Any more questions? I'm glad to answer any if it's for the betterment of the community. =)
I'll try to stay on. Can't promise anything. :P Sure. Provides some decent conversation. I joined to save my progress in phage wars live. Then I realised the community, obviously since has declined, but I digress. There are many good users who have kept me entertained for the while I've been here. As well as the (mostly active) mods, and great games make the site rather amazing. I used to post in the forum games the most, but that was when I was still accustoming myself to the forums, so I could jump into any post anytime I wanted. I try to stay quietly active in the Tavern, WEPR, and AMW. I don't usually post, just lurk around. What can I say? Summer is supposed to be a time of high network traffic in sites such as these. Yet, we've had a giant slump. Not only from many of the users, but seemingly many admins and mods. I'm not sure when or even if the site will recover, but I will stay none the less. Ask away at any time. I'm happy to join in. Anything for the community, right? So, how are things with you?
"Did you ever return to the site during your absence? If so, to do what?" I think I came back like once or twice. But I didn't stay very long. I made about 2 or 3 posts and then left. "Do you regret not devoting a consistent time to AG?" Not at all. I felt that I needed to take a break so I did. "If you could turn the clock back, what would be one thing you'd change?" Um...I don't know what I can change, but if I had the ability to add something. I would add on an edit button. "What do you think of the new games compared to the old games?" There were old games that were good and bad. And now there are still new games that are good and bad. I do like the addition of MMO games. But I don't play much anymore. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ You can ask more. I'm still bored. Lol...
Yeah sure I will. Why did I return to the AG community? Well I came back because I just wanted to help out some people until AG3 came out... As a oldish member I felt that it was a part of my duty for me to help out the AG community until it got back on its feet. I miss Cormyn... He was THE guy who helped out the community... He was always there for us and was helping us when we needed it , especially the Colony Anti Hack Squad. But then he left, and everything went all downhill. Also new armatars... Seasonal ones to be exact.I personally like some of the new forum games that are showing up... Quite entertaining. Plus seeing new users come to armorgames... Especially people like you... You seem to love to help out people on armor games and I respect you for that. My current opinion of AG is that it's all over the place. Mods are shutting down, getting ready for school, or just being inactive in general. We need people like you to lead AG... AG admin and mods need to swallow up their pride and accept that the whole 'small family' thing is no longer tolerable. That's what I'm thinking now... Sorry for the long message. -king
Oooh this sounds like fun!!! Don't let me bore you with my answers though! 1) I came back, because I made a goal to myself I would become at least a Gold Prince before AG3! (I truly hope AG3 is delayed until Summer 2013. -_- 2.A) I haven't been here since 2008 and 2009, since I wasn't old enough to create an account. Anyways, I really loved the friendlyness and activeness of all the Moderators and Admins! Well...Cormyn, being strict to us...is his way of showing his love... 2.B) I cannot find too many things I like about AG currently...all I can hope for is AG3... 3) These past few weeks, I have noticed something scary and deadly going on in AG. I noticed the forums were falling apart. AG was getting less active. I also was really disappointed when most of my AG "Friends" have already said their goodbyes to AG and gone on. I also do not like the state of the Spam Bots. Another thing about AG I currently don't like is how the Admins and Mods have gone inactive. Only a few lay standing out of the dozen we have.
The Grouping I have grouped several of the answers together to make it easier for you to understand.
Cormyn-related I haven't been here since 2008 and 2009, since I wasn't old enough to create an account. Anyways, I really loved the friendlyness and activeness of all the Moderators and Admins! Well...Cormyn, being strict to us...is his way of showing his love... I miss Cormyn... He was THE guy who helped out the community... He was always there for us and was helping us when we needed it , especially the Colony Anti Hack Squad. But then he left, and everything went all downhill. Maybe because Cormyn left, there was no more management on AG3 and they blew it off.
Interestingly enough, these comments lean towards the facts that Cormyn was strict, informative, and was public. All 3 of the answers state that after Cormyn left, in late 2011, AG went downhill. Could it possible that AG started its slump in early 2012? Answers say, yes.
AG3-related I came back, because I made a goal to myself I would become at least a Gold Prince before AG3! (I truly hope AG3 is delayed until Summer 2013. -_- I cannot find too many things I like about AG currently...all I can hope for is AG3... Why did I return to the AG community? Well I came back because I just wanted to help out some people until AG3 came out... AG isn't doing very good. I can say that. I don't think it's our fault. The staff hasn't given us any more content on AG3. I plan on staying because I enjoy the community here, and I wanna see what all goes down when (if) AG3 ever comes out. I'd like to be a part of that, too.
As evident from the massive quantity of these responses, AG3 is on a lot of people's minds. We don't know anything about the activity going on there, nor will we find out anytime soon, what with the lack of administrative communication.
Staff-related Mods are shutting down, getting ready for school, or just being inactive in general. AG admin and mods need to swallow up their pride and accept that the whole 'small family' thing is no longer tolerable. As well as the (mostly active) mods [on joining] Yet, we've had a giant slump. Not only from many of the users, but seemingly many admins and mods. At this point, only one thing is crossing all of our minds... WHERE are the ADMINS?!? We had more mods active as well. They'd be keeping the AMW up. Mods took control of the AMW (in a good way). So it was basically the forum section where you can just hang out. The staff hasn't given us any more content on AG3. They really need to find another community admin. We need someone of high quality to bring back AG to the golden ages. Like the forum error that's been occurring. We need a person who can inform us about what's going on.
The staff seems to be the biggest issue as of right now. I can safely say that until anything can get better, we need an active staff team. As evident, the team was once great, but now we have inactivity and questions everywhere.
As shown from the answers, we have questions about AG3, a dead staff team, and we need a new CM. These things are vital to making the inactivity go away.
Pickle Project 1 is left for your analysis. This was a test project; I will have the fully detailed version of Pickle Project 1 up soon.
+~+~+~+~+~+~+~+~+~+~+~+~+~+~+~+~+~+~+~+~+~+ [/b]Foundational Information The Pickle Project will be a series of projects done by me with the collaborative work of users to encourage activity and to inform. They will all be based off of AG's history and its current slump of inactivity.
Pickle Project 1 (as shown above) was a taste of what will happen. The first was an experimental project. If it is demanded I will have a larger analysis sometime next week. Future projects will not have a preview version; this one had a preview version because it also has a introduction o the Pickle Project, as seen here.
[b]Pickle Project 2 The 2nd PP will deal with the largely known chat CountingTime created by Knight_34. It will be a timeline of the chat's history. If you are interested in contributing information to the project contact me via messenger. The expected release date is not known yet.
Foundational Information The Pickle Project will be a series of projects done by me with the collaborative work of users to encourage activity and to inform. They will all be based off of AG's history and its current slump of inactivity.
Pickle Project 1 (as shown above) was a taste of what will happen. The first was an experimental project. If it is demanded I will have a larger analysis sometime next week. Future projects will not have a preview version; this one had a preview version because it also has a introduction o the Pickle Project, as seen here.
Pickle Project 2 The 2nd PP will deal with the largely known chat CountingTime created by Knight_34. It will be a timeline of the chat's history. If you are interested in contributing information to the project contact me via messenger. The expected release date is not known yet.
Again, PP1 was an experimental project. Tell me what you think. If people like it, I will have the full analysis up next week.
