The John Farnham of modding
Posted 19 January 2013 - 02:21 AM
T3A has been pretty quiet lately but I'm hoping to change that and do some spring cleaning and make some changes around here.
So I'm interested in your suggestions (no really, I am).
What do you think could be changed around here to improve how we run.
Break dancing into the hearts of millions
Master Yelloh
Posted 19 January 2013 - 04:28 PM
I suppose so... But we do need to ensure that what is posted as news is written good enough to be a news post 
Wouldn't want a bunch of spelling mistakes or whatever...
Although you do have a point, perhaps we could change how the news is done a bit, maybe smaller updates since most mods are currently fairly inactive...
Posted 23 January 2013 - 07:08 AM
I wouldn’t have responded to this (and almost didn't), but since you said you are really interested in suggestions, I decided to reply. First, let me say that I’ve really enjoyed the T3A website. I’ve had fun learning to make game modifications. I’ve also appreciated the effort that has gone into developing and maintaining this website. I assume the folks that maintain this site are all volunteers. Therefore, I’m not eager to be an armchair quarterback. It’s easy to say how things should be done when you haven’t been doing the work.
As I write this, I’m curious as to what kind of changes you have in mind and where you think the improvement opportunities are. For example, are you looking to change the web page layout or content or something else? Knowing that could influence the input you receive.
According to the “Users” list, there are 2,021 members. I tried to get a sense of general member activity but according to the list, most everyone is a regular user. I’m not sure how “regular user” is defined, but it seems like it is anyone that ever had a valid account, even if they haven’t accessed the site in years. I’m guessing you have access to more detailed data. For example, how many users are regularly accessing the site on a weekly or monthly basis? As you know, if there are not enough active members, then the site will fade away. I don’t know how close we are to that, but should steps be taken to boost membership or get infrequent visitors to become more frequent visitors? As you stated, things have been pretty quiet. It seems to have been that way for a while.
Allow me to ask a very basic question. What do folks look for on this site? That is, why do they come here? Is it for mods? Is there a demand for improvements to existing mods? Is there demand for new mods to play or do folks want to create their own mod? What are people looking to see in mods? Ditto for maps. How about tutorials? Is there an interest in a specific topic area or a few key areas? What are the opportunities to address this need? Is there a need for additional or more detailed tutorials? On the forums, is there an interest in detailed explanations with examples, or are people OK with the more typical general responses that are provided? Would a site polling questionnaire help gather needed data? What are the priorities? Would it help if the staff provide updates and requests for member input on more than a monthly basis if something newsworthy comes up?
I know I’ve asked lots of questions when you’re looking for answers. However, I really don’t know enough about the site’s opportunity areas to be more specific. I would expect that our site leaders would have a better understanding. I hope that some of these questions can be a starting point for further discussions that can provide more meaningful input.
One improvement suggestion I have for everyone is with regards to questions from newcomers (or even folks that have been around for a while). Yes, sometimes the question may seem silly or the person asking the question hasn’t done some basic research or may struggle with English grammar (having lived and traveled in other countries, I’m sympathetic to the challenge of communicating in another language). There’s no surer method to drive people away than to respond in a way that makes the questioner feel like an idiot or be embarrassed. If the person asking the question doesn’t respond to an answer, see if there is some additional information they need. If the person asks a follow-up question, every effort should be make to answer it, even if it’s a “I don’t know” because no response also indicates a lack of interest. This probably isn’t what you were looking for, but I believe it would help retain and grow our active membership.
The John Farnham of modding
Posted 23 January 2013 - 07:49 AM
When answering questions on the forums we've always taken the stance of help them help themselves because spoon feeding answers helps noone.
We'll often link to articles (I usually give them an idea of what to search for on the main page) which is why requests are requested but never fulfilled.
We're respectful of the new members who post questions I can't remember a time where we weren't, unless of course the member is a complete idiot or troll.
I still take the time to answer the same 3 questions asked of mod even though I've posted the answer hundreds of times.
The goals of T3A have changed over the years as we've matured as a community we do seem to focus more on hosting mods than modding help mainly because the articles have been such a success.
There's enough there on the articles to cover everything needed to make even advanced mods.
I am hoping that we make some layout and feature improvements in the future.
As far as I know "Regular users" is everyone below staff.
Break dancing into the hearts of millions
LEGO Knight of Minas Ithil
Posted 23 January 2013 - 08:14 AM
Good set of questions:
What do you look for on this site?
Friendly and small community where I am not lost in the crowd but have a few people who are into my kinda stuff.
Remember that all worlds draw to an end and that noble death is a treasure which no one is too poor to buy. - C.S. Lewis
There will come a time when you believe everything is finished. That will be the beginning. - Louis L'Amour
What will matter then will be people. If relationships will matter most then, shouldn't they matter most now? - Max Lucado
The John Farnham of modding
Posted 25 January 2013 - 04:28 PM
Break dancing into the hearts of millions
Valar of Modding
Posted 12 February 2013 - 07:42 PM
I am not entirely sure what to do, but it seems to me that all of the modders left here, are the truely devoted ones. The ones I have seen here for years (e.g. Ridder Geel, Apollo, and MattTheLegoman). Maybe we should take what is left of us, and make the BFME Mod to rule them all 
The Bolicious One
Posted 12 February 2013 - 07:54 PM
Valar of Modding
Posted 13 February 2013 - 05:19 AM
id love to see more activity in a forum like this.
The Bolicious One
Posted 18 February 2013 - 05:50 PM
Suggestion:
Can we have a weekly/monthly "Mod of the Week/Month", "Map of the Week/Month", "Model/Skin of the Week/Month", and "Most Improved Modder of the Week/Month, as voted by those in the Team Chamber?
It would add a sense of friendly competition and give us some more activity, hopefully?
Post-modern Shaman
Posted 18 February 2013 - 06:11 PM
I like this idea.
No fuel left for the pilgrims
Master Yelloh
Posted 18 February 2013 - 07:35 PM
Not bad, not bad at all 
I'd say do it Think Month is the best way to go with it, since weekly is.. well alot
The Bolicious One
Posted 21 February 2013 - 04:50 PM
And also, as a prize, say, a sneak peak inside a mod forum for a week? The most active one that week, anyway...
Or, if they do not have it already, a free "Project team" status and free entry into a mod team?
Old man Lauri
Posted 21 February 2013 - 04:52 PM
No, and no. For the first one, you'd have to change the password everytime the time is up. For the second one, if you want to get into a team, apply for it!
The 4th Age version 0.8 has been released: Link
The Bolicious One
Posted 21 February 2013 - 05:05 PM
Fine, any other awards applicable?
The Lazy Modder
Posted 21 February 2013 - 05:28 PM
Well perhaps the award is the recognition among members .
No parent should have to bury their child - King Theoden
Unitologist
Posted 21 February 2013 - 08:15 PM
perhaps one flaw is that we should be focusing on reviving REVORA as a whole and not just the T3A
there is only so much LOTR stuff people care about
with that said Revora is a creative network, so maybe its time we move into game engines, and creation instead of plain modding
take a look at indie dev games, in fact there is a lot of websites for them these days, mostly each website is dedicated to a single format
miniclip, newgrounds, omgpop for flash games
Gamejolt for small basic games and so on
we wont be able to cater for every engine out there, so i think its important to stick to a short sweet list and work with those
modding is great and all, but you always have time and interest against your project, most the fun is actually making the project but your end goal is to release something enjoyable
RIP 2323
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