First, my credentials...
I am a roleplaying gamer first and foremost. I've dabbled a little in board games and TCGs but RPGs are my first passion and obsession really. I've played D&D since I was 12 and have also played a variety of other games from the old World of Darkness to most of Palladium's games, to D20 Modern. From a VCL standpoint, I was previously the VCL of the Gleemax forums.
Second, my intentions...
It is my intention to work with the communities in this area and acknowledged RPG area community leaders and with Community Management to keep these communities active, vibrant and a positive place to be.
To that end, because I very much need to familiarize myself with these communities, I would like to extend the invitation to the most prominent leaders of the RPG area communities, Autumn_serene, KJW, and trappedslider to become my advisors, helping me to understand and communicate with the members of all the forums in this area.
I fully intend to be responsive to suggestions, feedback, input and criticisms. I intend to make every effort to get questions answered in a timely fashion, though I can't guarantee that those answers are going to be answers folks are going to like.
Third, my hope...
It is my hope that recent conflicts can be learned from and that we can move forward in making the RPG area forums fun, vibrant, active communities.
"What do you intend to focus on?"
I see three distinct communities all under the banner of RPGs.
D20 Modern
D20 Design
The New Forums
Each of these three areas were their own areas before the reorg and deserve to be treated with dignity and respect. As such, as VCL, I intend to focus on making sure that those communities are treated fairly and equally, none over the other.
As the reorg continues, some of the forums associated with those communities may get shuffled around, merged with other forums, etc. It is my goal and hope to make that transition as smooth as possible and find a way to preserve the core of each of the three communities here, ensuring that their unique identities are not lost.
Hi, my name is crazy_monkey1956 and I have just been announced as the VCL for the RPG area.
First, my credentials...
I am a roleplaying gamer first and foremost. I've dabbled a little in board games and TCGs but RPGs are my first passion and obsession really. I've played D&D since I was 12 and have also played a variety of other games from the old World of Darkness to most of Palladium's games, to D20 Modern. From a VCL standpoint, I was previously the VCL of the Gleemax forums.
Second, my intentions...
It is my intention to work with the communities in this area and acknowledged RPG area community leaders and with Community Management to keep these communities active, vibrant and a positive place to be.
To that end, because I very much need to familiarize myself with these communities, I would like to extend the invitation to the most prominent leaders of the RPG area communities, Autumn_serene, KJW, and trappedslider to become my advisors, helping me to understand and communicate with the members of all the forums in this area.
I fully intend to be responsive to suggestions, feedback, input and criticisms. I intend to make every effort to get questions answered in a timely fashion, though I can't guarantee that those answers are going to be answers folks are going to like.
Third, my hope...
It is my hope that recent conflicts can be learned from and that we can move forward in making the RPG area forums fun, vibrant, active communities.
I think you need to post most than just in Community Business if you want to be known.
I think you need to post most than just in Community Business if you want to be known.
Planning on it. :D I'm lurking first to get a feel for what goes on in each forum.
It is very unfortunate that the RPG Area has two components – Open RPG and the d20 Community. Both deserve their own area, but this is not happening. It also cannot be denied that the d20 Community is being put upon, but so is the nascent Open RPG community. This is one of your major difficulties as VCL the situation is rough. This though is reality, compromise between these communities is the only option. I do believe that a structure can be developed for the RPG Area that serves both communities and looks to the future.
Now I must stress that the single most important task for the VCL is the forum reorganization for the RPG Area. Everything else is secondary. This needs to be done as quickly and efficiently as possible to get this community established. This transition period helps no one.
First, we need some questions answered by Community Management (the first three you have already asked, but I came up with two more that need to be answered):
1) When do they need a forum reorganization plan from the community to give it due consideration?
2) When do they plan on doing the forum reorganization?
3) What is the number of forums they are looking for in the new RPG Area?
4) What are the priorities that Community Management has for the RPG Area?
5) What will be the process in the forum reorganization, i.e. how will forums/threads be moved about as needed when the reorganization is implemented?
Second, we shouldn’t wait for answers from Community Management to beginning a discussion and planning for the forum reorganization. When Community Management gives us answers we can adjust the discussion, but time is important. This process is going to be a mess. We have to make sure that every discussion and thread currently on the forums in this area will have a home. We also have to make sure that we have an elegant plan for the RPG Area that is intuitive and easy for everyone to understand and use. Finally, we have to be able to clearly explain this plan to Community Management.
So with that in mind, I am going to give my answers to these questions as a recommended launching point for this discussion and process.
1) When do they need a forum reorganization plan from the community to give it due consideration? I say we try to have a basic plan within one week.
2) When do they plan on doing the forum reorganization? I don’t know, but let’s guess they play on doing it on June 1st, which would be in 12 days.
3) What is the number of forums they are looking for in the new RPG Area? We have 26 now, so let’s aim for 14 forums. This is half plus one.
4) What are the priorities that Community Management has for the RPG Area? I think that the obvious priorities are for this to be a self-contained community that supports the d20 System and discussions of any and all RPGs.
5) What will be the process in the forum reorganization, i.e. how will forums/threads be moved about as needed when the reorganization is implemented? On this I don’t know…it is critically important for the VCL to determine if everything is being saved or not. If it is only recent threads then we will need to communicate to people to bump the threads they want to save.
OK now with the forum reorganization we have the following forums currently in the RPG Area….
RPGs General Discussion
Community Business
As the Die Rolls (off-topic discussions)
Rules Counseling
Do It Yourself (House Rules)
d20 General
d20 Modern
Urban Arcana
d20 Past
d20 Future
d20 Apocalypse
d20 Cyberscape
d20 Modern Fiction
d20 Design General
d20 Character Optimization
d20 Character Optimization: non-D&D
d20 Theoretical Optimization
d20 Character Development
Playing With Everything
d20 Anime
d20 Fantasy
d20 For Grins
d20 Historical
d20 Horror
d20 Sci-Fi
d20 Videogames
Autumn’s last plan, a little modified by me, which received some positive comments from Community Management….
RPG HQ
---RPG Community Business
---As the Die Rolls
---Industry Talk
D20 System
---d20 Modern
---d20 Past & Future
Open RPG
---RPG General (All but D&D and d20)
---Rules Counseling
---Character Development
---House Rules and Rules Variants
---Campaign Workshop
---When Inspiration Strikes
---Setting the Mood
Optimization
---Character Optimization (All but 4E)
---Theoretical Optimization
Sent Off to the 4E Forums
---Character Optimization: 4th edition
Personally, I think we need to clarify some of the differences between these forums to make them as distinct as possible, but I do feel this is a very workable model to begin with. This gives us four sections and 14 forums in the RPG Area. People can discuss moving forums between sections, redoing the sections, and so forth. I think that if someone wants to suggest a new forum to this model they need to also suggest a consolidation or removal of another forum. I think 14 is a good target number.
Also I think that as VCL you need to think about your volunteer structure. I feel you need a volunteer for each final section, at the least, ideally a volunteer for each final forum. I know forum leads are being phased out, but this reorganization is going to be a challenge from logistics to editorially moderation as we find out what goes where. You need a cadre of people to handle this stuff and coordinate with you.
Do meetings via AIM and why not post the meeting logs in this forum for comment from the community.
Yes, we might have forum guides, but there is nothing stopping you from setting up an ambassadors program or something to leverage the abilities of people in this community. You need to specifically reach out and involve the d20 Community leaders. We need them to stay in the RPG Area to make this a vibrant community. Talk to people, individually, and get them involved. Group PMs may be useful, but I feel targeted PMs are more useful and encourages a more frank discussion.
You also need to set up a thread where you put in a self evaluation and ask people to evaluate your performance as things progress. You need to be responsive to criticisms and open to communication. If you are not getting communication via threads (very likely this will be a problem) then send out questionnaires or something via PM to active posters. In this situation group PMs are a good idea. Don’t wait for the community to come to you with their problems be proactive!
Be open, be responsive, be honest, but most importantly be flexible. Admittedly, you will likely get caught between the community and Community Management at times, this can’t be helped, but there are always methods of making any situation work. When in doubt ask for help.
OK a lot of thoughts, but this is something, for some reason, I have been thinking a lot about recently. :D
I am here to help,
Kirk
What's the difference between character optimization and theoretical optimization? When Inspiration Strikes and Setting the Mood?
My take on this, I hope Autumn or someone corrects me as I get it wrong, is that character optimization just involves designing 'efficient' characters while theoretical optimization involves the art of 'breaking' game mechanics. So for example, if you want a good build for a Line Walker in Rifts you go to Character Optimization for help. If you want to posit how to destroy the Earth in one attack with the rules and gear for Rifts you go to theoretical optimization.
My understanding with When Inspiration Strikes (WIS) is that is for taking ideas from other sources and applying it to a setting or system. So for example, you watch Indy IV and you want to design a crystal skull artifact for your D&D campaign that would fall under WIS. This is also where you would put something humorous you came up with for your campaign. Setting the Mood is for how to articulate things like fear, romance, and tension into a campaign. I see it as an advanced GM skills forum.
Once again these aren't my terms and I am using Autumn's model so I may be confused about her intentions on this. I am still switching gears in my role in all of this so I will have to think about my opinions on this structure and the names/purposes of the forums. :D
TO is for things like Pun-Pun. Although I'm not fully conversant with what Pun-Pun can do, my understanding is that, fully within the rules, he is a kobold that can take down deities without breaking a sweat.
Okay.
He has infinite stats and near infinite ability to acquire new abilities. So, yeah, he's a silly example of breaking things.
Okay.
Off Topic: Pun Pun is the ultimate excercise of TO. Any defined characteristic is his. He can add or subtract characteristics at will in 0 time. Thus pun pun ls simply one big stack of infinities.
TO is anything that includes infinity, arbritarilly large, or loops.
From lurking on the CO and TO forums (the current d20 versions), CO is for builds that take full advantage of the available rules while still being a viable and balanced character.
TO is for things like Pun-Pun. Although I'm not fully conversant with what Pun-Pun can do, my understanding is that, fully within the rules, he is a kobold that can take down deities without breaking a sweat.
Basically, CO is for stuff you can actually use in a game.
TO is for stuff that would cause your DM to take you behind the chemical sheds to be shot for heresy.
Though admittedly TO is fun when done outside the game. A friend of mine did a 240HD monster with a tribe living on it. It was a real Cloverfield.
CO is for real play, TO is an exercise in math and loopholes. For "When Inspiration Strikes" and "Setting the Mood"-- neither were included in G0's plan so the chance of both of them is slim.
I say just try to find something that all of the thinktanks could fit as well as maybe some of the evil side of the former Mature boards.
I would ask that the name "When Inspiration Strikes" not be used if possible. When the idea was shot down, I made a board with that name on my forums. But I think maybe the idea should be more broad anyway?
"Roleplaying Brainstorming" or "Roleplaying Design Experiments" or something similar?
The purpose of the thinktanks is to take inspiration from elsewhere-- books, movies, tv, other games, video games, history, etc and use it to make game elements.
The only thinktanks that didn't fit neatly into that were Horror and For Grins. These are more about styles...
So maybe something like Sources and Styles? or a better alliterative phrase?
RPG HQ
---RPG Community Business
---As the Die Rolls
---Industry Talk
D20 System
---d20 Modern
---d20 Past & Future
Open RPG
---RPG General (All but D&D and d20)
---Character Development
---Campaign Workshop
---Rules Counseling
---House Rules and Rules Variants
---Sources & Styles
Optimization
---Character Optimization (All but 4E)
---Theoretical Optimization
Sent Off to the 4E Forums
---Character Optimization: 4th edition
OK so what's missing or redundant? In other words, do all the current forums have a home, more or less, for their threads and discussions?
Personally, I think we need a better name for RPG General. It's not really RPG General as it is for RPGs except for d20 and D&D. Actually, better names for the forums in general could be useful. :D
As for different names, descriptive names that clearly spell out what the forum is for, while boring, are generally a good idea, in my opinion.
Well RPG General is about RPGs, whereas Industry Talk is about GSL/OGL, licensing, freelancing, and so forth in the RPG industry. I see them as pretty distinct.
I agree. :D
On your list KJW there is no forums being moved to the 4e boards as far as I know. The 4e Char Opt was being created as a new forum (which it already has) just a heads up (unless of course I misunderstood something about your list...)
Also I don't think you are going to be able to get the separation you have listed because they are all staying in this RPG section on Gleemax. The divisions you have listed would mean more sections.
From what I've gathered from all the reorg discussions is that it'll probably have to look something more like this:
RPG
---RPG Community Business
---As the Die Rolls
---Industry Talk
---d20 Modern
---d20 Past & Future
---RPG General (All but D&D and d20)
---Character Development
---Campaign Workshop
---Rules Counseling
---House Rules and Rules Variants
---Sources & Styles
---Character Optimization (All but 4E)
---Theoretical Optimization
Unless CM is planning on taking them out of Gleemax and giving RPG its own area (which with this many forums it should have its own area, but that is their decision).
This was the list of forums
RPG General Discussion
Community Business
As the Die Rolls
OGL/GSL
d20 General
d20 Modern
Character Optimization
Campaign and Character Developement
Rules Counseling
Do It Yourself (House Rules)
that CM presented the reorg discussion with because of the minimalistic approach they wanted to take with the forums and the reorg.
Hopefully this helps :D