Org Issues and Improvements

[gollum]

Originally posted by Andres
Why can't we have both? AAR's in the SP subforum of the game they're based on AND a copy of the AAR in the TreasAARy?

Nonwithstanding any potential admin issues (server space etc) that i can't know of, that would be ideal imo.

[TinCow]

Nonwithstanding any potential admin issues (server space etc) that i can't know of, that would be ideal imo.

The Org is a macho-sever. We have unlimited storage space and unlimited bandwidth. We laugh at puny servers who have limits. Org knows no limits!

[Populus Romanus]

I think we should rename the tavern. I know that it took me forever to find the off topic forum here. Indeed, it was not until I read in the EB forum that the tavern was the off topic forum that ever found it. New members doubtlessly will have the exact same issue. The tavern should be renamed to something that is more indicative ofnits purpose.

[Kocmoc]

The Steam-feature is really really great, well done guys!
That was highly needed and will make many things a lot easier in the future!

One question, if you can add single player with the "playernumber-ID", how about steamgroups? I saw it at frontpage, that you got the: totalwar.org grp somehow in.
It might be a good idea to create a "clan-page" where you could add different steam-clan-gps.

[PershsNhpios]

Thank you brother Gollum and brother Nagamasa, you have said all that need be said.

I agree entirely with Andres - if the staff can afford to spend time organising and adding to the TreasAARy, then it will be a fine tribute to the continued creative output of all authors within all games if a copy of each AAR created should be posted within the TreasAARy. I think that this responsibility should rest with the staff however as not all authors will follow such protocol, and again, some will be too humble to think their work worthy of the place.
The question of whether to place individual sub-fora for AARs within game fora however must remain individual for each game. I believe it was brother Caravel or perhaps brother bamff who first decided to remove the AARs of bamff and myself outside the 'Pics & History' thread into the Main Hall with threads of their own, and this has worked wonders. Authors with a more extensive work post in the Hall, those who just want to share campaigns more informally post in the stickied thread.

This would not have worked with EB in its time, as nearly two pages would have been filled with active AARs.

And let me add - if the main reason the Main Hall has survived is the AAR, then it is because unlike in the RTW forum, if a brother wishes to play XL, MedMod, PMTW, HTW, ATW, NTW or Caravel Mod, it does not matter, his AAR will still be found in the Main Hall. In the RTW forum, an AAR will most likely be in a modded game, and therefore in the mod forum. The few AARs which are created in vanilla go into the TreasAARy, and thus the Colosseum is bled dry. Imagine if all those many mods including EB had their AARs published in the Colosseum or a sub-forum there. That is the secret to the Main Hall's longevity.

Now if all viruses (viri?) have been cleaned from this computer, perhaps I can get on with some of this writing today instead of just writing about writing!

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And what do the staff say regarding the first point I made - that is - regarding the confusing system of empty forums leading into the main discussion fora (Which are actually subfora)?

[TinCow]

And what do the staff say regarding the first point I made - that is - regarding the confusing system of empty forums leading into the main discussion fora (Which are actually subfora)?

I'm not convinced by this. The SP/MP categories cannot possible be more clearly marked than they are. Yes, it does require an extra click to get to the actual discussion forum if you click on the category forum itself, but removing the category means promoting the discussion forum up to the top level. In order to prevent confusion, that would then require us to rename the discussion forums to something descriptive like 'Single Player' or 'Multiplayer.' It's Org tradition to give interesting and thematic names to the forums, and it would be a real shame to lose that. It would be the equivalent of the Org losing part of its soul. Plus, this system never caused problems when the Org was more active. The extra click required the first time someone visits the forums (after the first time, they will know where to go from the index) doesn't make the difference between gaining a regular user and losing one. That is decided by the quality of the content and services provided by the Org as a whole.

We are very keen on improving the Org and growing the active user base, but that does not mean we should throw away that which makes the Org unique in the process.

[PershsNhpios]

I never meant - as was shown in my first post - to dispose of such names as the Main Hall or the Colosseum. My idea was just the opposite rather, to do away with 'Singleplayer' and 'Multiplayer' empty fora and if necessary suffix 'Singleplayer' to the Main Hall - but in any case to promote the Main Hall to the top level.

I think that we want the same thing here.

[caravel]

I'm not convinced by this. The SP/MP categories cannot possible be more clearly marked than they are. Yes, it does require an extra click to get to the actual discussion forum if you click on the category forum itself, but removing the category means promoting the discussion forum up to the top level. In order to prevent confusion, that would then require us to rename the discussion forums to something descriptive like 'Single Player' or 'Multiplayer.' It's Org tradition to give interesting and thematic names to the forums, and it would be a real shame to lose that. It would be the equivalent of the Org losing part of its soul.

The Main Hall was not always under the "Single Player" forum, it used to be out in the open like the Sword Dojo still is. This was only changed a few years ago when the AAR links were added. This caused quite a few of us to get our knickers in a twist and I'm sure that at the time Martok asked Tosa about changing it back, but not sure what came of that.

If the Main Hall were on the top level, this arguably may cause some confusion, but on the other hand it's description would also be immediately visible:

Forum for discussion on the single-player aspect of Medieval Total War and the exansion pack: Viking Invasion.

The "interesting and thematic name" would also be much more visible. IMHO it can only be a good thing and will increase the visibility of the fora and remove the "generic" look that the single/multiplayer forums create.

[Monk]

Thank you brother Gollum and brother Nagamasa, you have said all that need be said.

I agree entirely with Andres - if the staff can afford to spend time organising and adding to the TreasAARy, then it will be a fine tribute to the continued creative output of all authors within all games if a copy of each AAR created should be posted within the TreasAARy. I think that this responsibility should rest with the staff however as not all authors will follow such protocol, and again, some will be too humble to think their work worthy of the place.
The question of whether to place individual sub-fora for AARs within game fora however must remain individual for each game. I believe it was brother Caravel or perhaps brother bamff who first decided to remove the AARs of bamff and myself outside the 'Pics & History' thread into the Main Hall with threads of their own, and this has worked wonders. Authors with a more extensive work post in the Hall, those who just want to share campaigns more informally post in the stickied thread.

This would not have worked with EB in its time, as nearly two pages would have been filled with active AARs.

And let me add - if the main reason the Main Hall has survived is the AAR, then it is because unlike in the RTW forum, if a brother wishes to play XL, MedMod, PMTW, HTW, ATW, NTW or Caravel Mod, it does not matter, his AAR will still be found in the Main Hall. In the RTW forum, an AAR will most likely be in a modded game, and therefore in the mod forum. The few AARs which are created in vanilla go into the TreasAARy, and thus the Colosseum is bled dry. Imagine if all those many mods including EB had their AARs published in the Colosseum or a sub-forum there. That is the secret to the Main Hall's longevity.

Now if all viruses (viri?) have been cleaned from this computer, perhaps I can get on with some of this writing today instead of just writing about writing!

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I'd like you guys to know we're taking your suggestions to heart. You guys made some good points and I have to admit the current system just isn't ideal for our current situation.

Zim and phonicsmonkey have been doing a "duel to the death" TWS2 MP campaign for a while now, and they're posting their updates both in the Throne Room and in the Tea House.

In this same spirit, I've also began posting an AAR in the Tea house, with a copy being co-posted in the TreasAARy. I feel this will be the best of both worlds, utilizing the TreasAARy as the ONE place to go for everything, while still allowing people to post their campaign stuff in the "hot" forums. Still thinking of ways to "get the word out," but I just thought you guys would be interested to know we are listening, very much so.