QUOTE(Bigbro69 @ Dec 5 2004, 05:48 PM)
In other words, "Contact me and let me use more power!".
In other words, contact a mod about what mods need to do, and contact a GMod or myself for anything requiring further action. No need to fight over it, he's not trying to start anything here. So unless I'm mistaken, fighting in a thread about the excess of fighting is only proving his point. How 'bout we all try to disprove his point instead and stop?
However, I will say that as long as we dwell on the problems they will never go away. They will not go away overnight, no post ever written except a "Site Closure" thread will have such results. The only way to fix the problems is over time, we need to see progress and not a sudden jump (and if a sudden jump is experienced by some fluke, it is not likely to stay that way). Progress has been seen, a lot of it, we have gone from many members and an entire other clan causing problems here to just a few independent issues. Every community has a few at least, and they can be dealt with. If the existence of a few troublemakers makes us conflict-ridden to some members, then they really shouldn't bother themselves with active online communities because there are few (if any) places where no problemed members exist.
Posts bringing up the problem, though, just bring them back indirectly. The progress will go so far and then just sit at a constant as long as threads like these are active. Not that they're wrong, it's just that we've been posting things like this for a year and obviously what I'm saying is more and more obvious now. Some I talk to have no clue to what these posts are referring, while those involved are just reminded.
By the way, what
is the fundamental drive of many troublemakers who cause pointless unprovoked problems? To get attention and a reaction. The same applies here. When a member causes problems, big deals are brought up about them such as this and other posts. That is what fuels them even if the posts are sensible, I'm serious about that. The "putting them front-stage" of which I am always stating is doing just this. Really, if the member has no regard for our clan (such as someone who was banned who returns just to cause problems),
that will truthfully fuel them.
I'm not saying that you hurt anything, it's just that these threads keep popping up and we will accomplish nothing with them anymore.
Out of all the threads on this board, what percent contain actual situations? Then go to other popular communities and make the same assessment. One will see that we're arguing over something stupid which
can be healed in other ways.
- Improve the atmosphere. I'm sure that anyone can assess the atmosphere without analyzing the board. Is it heavy and overly serious? If it is,
that is the breeding ground for trouble. Trust me, I've seen a lot here and I can often predict when conflicts are likely to happen even without any certain basis. Not saying to go spam-crazy or anything, lol... But don't be afraid to have a good laugh now and then even in generally "serious" forums. If anything has prevented conflicts in the past, it is the state of the atmosphere. For those who were around for two years, create a mental picture of what the place was like. Back when conflicts were not as much of a public issue, the place was "happier". Now the place is more "serious", like with periodical pointlessness the enemy of society and personal competition on many levels. While spam isn't exactly allowed everywhere, a short or pointless post now and then is
not harmful. Since when has a short post caused you harm, you can simply look over it! For everyone else, it can sometimes (if related to the topic) create something a little fun or humorous. Isn't that what a game is for? Isn't that what we're all about? Last I knew entertainment didn't require absolute seriousness.
- Make friends. Try to get to know others. Get others' screen names out of their profiles if public and send an IM. Contact or meet the person in-game. Do whatever, but sometimes simple and direct contact like that will form a lasting friendship. Isn't that what makes the place a "community" instead of a "group of people"?
- Get your friends to join. One of the things which built our old community is that everyone recruited their friends, almost everyone knew someone else. Those who
are completely new were welcomed as well, and as a whole the place naturally became friendlier. We can bring that back, really it's as simple as a single link.
Sorry I rambled a little, I'm just restating what I believe will work and if everyone can just try it I am confident that these issues will be behind us. We don't need to keep thinking "are they behind us?", it's like watching a pot of water boil. You'll know when they're behind us, but it will never be as we watch them "fade away". Trust me.