Future of the Forums - Help Wanted

Krang 07-17-2007 12:42 AM
As many of you have already noticed, the state of our forums has been getting worse and worse lately. They are now barely active, and the few posts that are made there mostly consist of spam, arguing, and trolling. Many of our members, including most of our moderators, have stopped visiting the forums entirely.

Taking all of this into consideration, Shredder and I feel that the bad far outweighs the good here and that it is no longer worth our time to maintain the forums. Therefore, we have made the difficult decision to permanently close the forums in the near future. We have been considering this for a while, and we would rather shut down the forums than continue to let them get worse, so our decision is final.

However, we do recognize that there are still people who enjoy visiting here, and there are still several projects that we have agreed to host (such as R. Daniel Olk's season 3 project and Ace378's flash project), so we would still like to help support the community in some way. We decided that the best way to do that would be to help start a new Big O-related forum on our other domain name, www.paradigm-city.net, and direct our remaining forum visitors there.

To do this, we need a volunteer (or group of volunteers) to be the administrator of this new forum. There are no requirements other than being a current or former member of our forums and being motivated enough to breathe some life into the community. The new administrator will be responsible for creating and enforcing rules, hiring moderators, choosing and setting up the forum software, and all other administrative duties. I will remain as server admin and will be available as a technical adviser, but other than that, Shredder and I will not be managing the forums.

Please keep in mind that the site itself is not going anywhere. It will still remain online for as long as it is useful (which should be many more years), and we will continue to update it every now and then. The forums will also remain online as an archive with no posting permitted so that old discussions can still be viewed. You are still welcome to post on the forums until they are officially closed (keep an eye on this thread for more information on when that will be).

Thanks, and we hope to hear from a volunteer soon.
Generalissimo D 07-17-2007 01:08 AM
Being that I am the most unqualified for the job, I'll throw my name up.
X Prime 07-17-2007 02:21 AM
Actually...

Considering the fact that the visitorship is currently not precisely booming, all logic indicates you wouldn't need a moderation team, but at absolute most, two admins. And the only reason I say 'two' instead of 'one' is in case the one guy gets sick or such.

I don't suppose it would be humanly possible to simply import this forum into the other domain? I mean... why not? I see no reason to let your WBB2 license sit unused, and the only other site I know of that you run is Technodrome, which has vBulletin. It just seems like a sad waste to let such good forum software sit and rot.

If I may, can I give you one piece of advice? Don't accept a firebrand unless you have no other choice. I'd offer my services as the most technically qualified/experienced, but that consideration dissaudes me from doing so. That and my utter laziness.
Inigo Montoya 07-17-2007 02:44 AM
I'm structured, generally laid back, yet vocal in my opinons. I'll throw my hat in the ring, why not? I have experience administrating forums and whatnot.
War.
X Prime 07-17-2007 02:45 AM
...You do? To be honest I'm pleasantly surprised. Care to cite?

Be careful, he's also assuming you can set it up yourself.
Inigo Montoya 07-17-2007 02:50 AM
To be honest, they weren't big roles. Just a bunch of old roleplay forums, some mine, some others that fell to the wayside. A couple proboards, one invisionfree, and a vbboard that went up in smoke. Other than that...

choosing and setting up forum software? Well, it'd be a new thing for me, but I could do it with the aid of a few tutorials and some assistance from a couple buddies. How hard could it be?
War.
X Prime 07-17-2007 02:52 AM
I wouldn't mind assisting you with such tasks.
Hanyou 07-17-2007 11:11 AM
Not able to help in any way, but I am sad to see the forums closing, rarely as I visited. Still, I really appreciate that you're leaving them online as a sort of archive; there were some great discussions here back in the day, and it'd be sad to see them vanish forever. Few webmasters would be so courteous.

Hope you find the help you need, Krang. I could offer to mod, but I was never active or well-known enough here; still, I think I have some of the credentials and would just be happy to if the subject ever came up. I realize that now's the time to look for admins, though, and that's not something I can help you with.
evanASF27 07-17-2007 01:05 PM
I've been a successful moderator over at another forum, so I wouldn't mind helping out in the switch. (I wouldn't want to be admin tho, I don't think I'm qualified for that).

It's still a bit of a shock, but then again I can see what you mean (first hand, unfortunately).

Since there are some things which might be good to preserve, I was wondering if there was anyway to "download" threads like The Big Oh-RPG or the original BigO RPG, or even entire sections like the MFL (the arena threads, "post your megadeus" thread, among others). I can't think of a way to download or archive them off the top of my head, but I'm pretty sure there is a way to do so.

Even though all three have turned to dust in a way, they are still some pretty fine accomplishments for this forum. Smile And also I think some of us in the MFL would like to preserve some of our history for posterity. Wink
Mike 07-17-2007 01:12 PM
I liked the idea that we could move to another server, and make it a general anime/general discussion board.
Generalissimo D 07-17-2007 01:16 PM
quote:
Originally posted by +KIRA+
Since there are some things which might be good to preserve, I was wondering if there was anyway to "download" threads like The Big Oh-RPG or the original BigO RPG, or even entire sections like the MFL (the arena threads, "post your megadeus" thread, among others). I can't think of a way to download or archive them off the top of my head, but I'm pretty sure there is a way to do so.

Even though all three have turned to dust in a way, they are still some pretty fine accomplishments for this forum. Smile And also I think some of us in the MFL would like to preserve some of our history for posterity. Wink



quote:
The forums will also remain online as an archive with no posting permitted so that old discussions can still be viewed.


So when those youngsters (all four of them) wonder what the hell we're talking we just link em.
Ace of Spades 07-17-2007 01:42 PM
I'll do it
evanASF27 07-17-2007 01:43 PM
quote:
Originally posted by Call Me D. Just D. The D.
quote:
The forums will also remain online as an archive with no posting permitted so that old discussions can still be viewed.


So when those youngsters (all four of them) wonder what the hell we're talking we just link em.

Oh wow... man, that's what I get for reading an important post while exhausted outta my mind. (it's been a very long day Dead )

I'm very relieved to hear that! Embarrassed Sweatdrop
X Prime 07-17-2007 01:48 PM
You can just save the page as a Web Archive you know.

Though, you'd have to do that for every page of the thread.
Tony Ventresca 07-17-2007 01:48 PM
Thanks for the heads-up. I just joined a short while ago, but hey ho that's life. I have one thread I want to do on Roger Smith's clothing, so I guess I'd better get on it sharpish!

TV
R.Smith 07-17-2007 05:41 PM
Wow.....hm, I suppose it was going to happen eventually. Frown

I don't know if I'll be available, since I've been rather caught up in my own project.... but if I can help out it'd be my pleasure to do so. Smile
Krang 07-18-2007 12:21 AM
quote:
Originally posted by X Prime
Considering the fact that the visitorship is currently not precisely booming, all logic indicates you wouldn't need a moderation team, but at absolute most, two admins. And the only reason I say 'two' instead of 'one' is in case the one guy gets sick or such.

You're right, although it's up to the new admin to decide how many mods and co-admins to add, if any. And hopefully the admin will be motivated enough to get the word out about the new forum and help increase the activity beyond what we have here.

quote:
I don't suppose it would be humanly possible to simply import this forum into the other domain? I mean... why not?

Well, the biggest reason is that Shredder and I no longer want to be responsible for the forums. These forums are the ones we built, and if things go wrong with the new admin (which hopefully won't be the case), we'll probably get blamed and dragged back into it. Besides, with all the problems we have around here, a fresh start is probably the only thing that can salvage this community before it just fades away on its own. Also, with over 320,000 posts and a database that is nearly 400MB, we'll start running into capacity problems again if the forums become more active.

quote:
I see no reason to let your WBB2 license sit unused, and the only other site I know of that you run is Technodrome, which has vBulletin. It just seems like a sad waste to let such good forum software sit and rot.

WBB2 has been great and has served its purpose well over the years, but it will probably be EOLed eventually in favor of WBB3. Since that would involve spending a good amount of time upgrading the forums, might as well put that time and effort into setting up some new software.

quote:
Originally posted by Inigo Montoya
choosing and setting up forum software? Well, it'd be a new thing for me, but I could do it with the aid of a few tutorials and some assistance from a couple buddies. How hard could it be?

Oops, my wording was a little unclear. By "setting up," I meant choosing the forum layout, usergroups, settings, etc. As server admin, I'll do the actual installation of the software (uploading the files, setting up the database, etc.).

quote:
Originally posted by Mike
I liked the idea that we could move to another server, and make it a general anime/general discussion board.

It would be a good idea to expand the topic of the new forums since it'll help keep them going considering the fact that, beyond a few DVD releases, there isn't much left to discuss about Big O. However, that decision will be up to the new admin.

Anyway, thanks to everyone who has shown interest so far in being the new admin, and if you're interested and haven't posted here yet, it's not too late. In the next few days, Shredder and I will come up with a way to help determine who to choose, so keep an eye on this thread for more details.
The Ghost of Ember 07-18-2007 01:13 AM
I'll avoid dancing around the issue by saying I want it, so sign me up. Where's the dotted line and all that jazz. Sorry to take so long to jump at it. I was mulling it over. I hesitated because someone who's not a 'veteran' taking charge has often cause problems on other forums I've been on. It's been the death knell for at least one of them.

But on the the other hand, I REALLY want to give the community a kick in the pants, and get things chugging along again. Yeah, Big O is over, but there are numerous anime and other series that have been 'finished' for ages longer than Big O, and the fandoms are still chugging along. They're still are discussed, they still have fans producing art and fiction based off of it. Meanwhile we've slowed to almost a standstill. It ain't a competition, but we're still losing.

As far as my experience goes, I haven't used WBB, but I've a great deal of experience with Vbulletin. I've administrated at two different forums with around 50+ regular active members. Both are long dead. (I'd say through no fault of my own, but I can't really claim that. At the very least I was responsible by reason of inaction.)

I recently built a website/forum for myself around VB, and created my own style for the forum, complete with custom graphics (which is linked in my profile/sig [/blatant plug]). I've access to photoshop. I know HTML and have a grasp of CSS and a vague sort of knowledge of Java. Though, personally I'd prefer to have a more experienced coder behind things.

So that's it. Even if I don't get the job, I could make the graphics for a style for yah guys if whoever is put in charge wants me to.
harshfire 07-18-2007 02:47 AM
I'll sign up whole-heartedly. =]

I'm incredibly sad to be reading this, however, since this has been my home site since I first started surfing the web (2003). I'm more than happy to help out in any way I possibly can. Please feel free to contact me in any way about this, for I want to help. I can do a lot of different things, albeit I may not be the best.

I've learned a lot in the few years I've been here and I want to keep my memories of being here as clear as I possibly can.

Hope things work out, and please, contact me if you are in need of assistance.

=]

Later days,
Rev
The Question 07-18-2007 11:40 AM
quote:
Originally posted by The Ghost of Ember


Yeah, Big O is over, but there are numerous anime and other series that have been 'finished' for ages longer than Big O, and the fandoms are still chugging along.


Yeah, but Big O wasn't as popular as many other anime series.

To be honest, it seems kind of pointless to close the forums, only to open a new one with new admins. Krang, you said you just didn't want to be responsible for the forums. It seems rather selfish (sorry) just to close them, if you want to shirk this minor responsibility, you could just step down and let a new admin take over. I understand the fresh start but the part about wanting the new admin to blamed if anything goes wrong seems a bit selfish also.

I'm about to get flamed within an inch of my life aren't I?