A new beginning for our SM community.

[Jousway]

Originally Posted by ddrxero64

I've yet to say them for a reason. Of course, now I have no proof to back up my statement, and me asking you to accept it would be based purely on faith. I have my reasons for not including them, whether one believes it or not. I do it to protect the anonymity of the sites, because there is no doubt in my mind the minute I post it people will flock over there and say something.

pic's or it didn't happen

[Shikari]

You guys are still arguing about personal issues? Haha, we have a revolution going on in here, my friends.

[Jousway]

Originally Posted by Shikari

You guys are still arguing about personal issues? Haha, we have a revolution going on in here, my friends.

yeah sorry about that.

lets go back on topic because I doubt ddrxero can confirm it so.

[AsphyxZero]

Fots shired

[ddrxero64]

Originally Posted by Jousway

pic's or it didn't happen

Ok. Let's assume for now it didn't happen. When the time comes I may post it. We'll then continue it there. But for now, let's assume it didn't happen.

[TC_Halogen]

I have no issues with either of you two, but can you guys take the constant arguing elsewhere? It's a bit out of place, especially in a thread that's going to help coordinate a possible revival to SM.

[Shikari]

Yeah, for now, let's assume whatever it is happened, and go back to the topic, please, ddrxero. I have nothing against you, you're a cool guy imho, but please, DROP IT.


As we talk, I'm making a list of packs to use in a new Tier Points system, developed by me, Stian, Halogen and Rubix. More work, less argue, thanks.

[ddrxero64]

My thoughts. Typed up now without going back or editing (other than grammar and mechanics).

Setting Up a Forum

Decide on what site you'll be using to create the forum (phpbb, zetaboards, whatever it is you need to use, I've never created a forum of my own technically). Once you've done your research and made a decision, stick with it.

Decide on a domain to use. Using a simple link to the forum without an actual domain is very unappealing. In terms of attracting new players and members, use a domain that is related to your cause. A domain with a story seems to attract people as well. For example, take the name of one of your favorite artists. There is usually a story to why it was created, and even usernames nowadays have a story behind the simple 6-12 characters.

My example, deadmau5. If my information is right, he used that name because he once found a dead mouse in his computer. The way he named it was a stylistic choice.

You now have a domain and working forum, what's next?

Promoting a Forum

Some may argue that you should have certain features on a forum before you promote it. But not all people who create a forum have the resources to get them. If you do, that's great. For the people who don't, promotion is key.

Exposure is very important for a forum to grow. In this case, you are starting a new SM community. So the logical solution would be to promote it and market it where SM players will see them, which in this case are other existing communities. You'd start there, and if you're willing to go the extra mile without spending a dime market it to places where potential SM players may post. For example, how did you find out about SM? Most people hear it from a friend, or saw it on a site that directed it to them. A music gaming site would be ideal for the extra mile. People who like music and gaming would be the ideal group of people to market to.

Word of mouth is very important too, so spreading the word where it'll benefit most is key. For example, I traveled to an anime convention to spread my word. Stepmania has a decent anime fan base, and because gaming is related to the convention itself, that too is also an advantage. Being one of the top ten anime conventions in the world versus how close it was, it was my best option. It was also happening soon, which I took into account.

Promotion, marketing, whether profit or non profit, exposure, and more are what spread the word. When used correctly, you could attract members who support your cause and are willing to help. Some of the people who may join may have talents in programming, website design, experience in managing a forum, and other skills that you need. Enlarge the user base and you'll get more resources.

Improving a Forum

You now have the community, you have a forum, your next step is to keep both. To do this, you need constant improvements and events.

Adding features is a great way to make a user base happy. If the forum was perfect, you'd have every user in the world. But you don't, so there's always a way to improve. Listening to suggestions is key in this step, because people will suggest things that you may or may not want to use. If you can use it, credit the person who asked. They are there to support you and giving them credit for helping you is never a bad thing.

If the suggestion is something you'd rather not implement, then let them know you appreciated it anyway. If you ignore it, the user will think you didn't see it or don't care. If you refuse it without some sort of appreciation, it may come off as narcissistic. By letting the user know that you read and considered it, it's a step in the right direction. They may come back a month later and suggest something amazing and easy to do.

Events are another great way to keep the forum active. Contests, whether serious or not serious, give the forum goers something to do, something to look forward to, and something to work on. You can't expect the forum members to think of everything on their own. Like a business, you need some sort of management. Being able to make decisions and be open to suggestions is crucial.

If the focus of the forum is actually a game and not the forum, then work on that too. This means create incentives and have events. This is actually my second project being work on in my Operation Revival. It's based on actually working towards something on SM/SMO, not just increasing level or skill. People need something solid and in their face to work towards, which is a huge part of gaming.

Take for example the Pokemon game for the Wii. One of the worst games in my opinion. No story, and the only thing to work towards were some tournaments you needed to enter with the pokemon from the DS game itself. All it really did was provide a cooler way to battle and give certain items you couldn't easily get otherwise.

Keeping the site fresh, whether it be updates visually, new pack releases, or events and competitions is important. The bigger the prize (not in monetary terms) to the community the more support. Some communities treasure a custom song more than a T-shirt. It ultimately depends on the forum and its target community.

Administrating a Forum

Being able to keep the community on the right track is necessary to ensure the longevity of a site/forum. Every forum and community will have its own rules, so in the position of a member learning to accept or adapt to them is important. If you don't like or agree with them, your experience on the forum will probably not be a pleasant one.

As a moderator or administrator, being unbiased in all decisions is crucial. The idea is that a decision you made three months ago can reflect a decision now. If someone assumes you just temporarily banned a person you didn't like, you can direct them to every other time you temporarily banned someone for the same reason. In this way you prove that you have kept your decisions the same, and do not let personal influence run your logic.

Of course, rules can be changed. But this should never be done unless it has a significant reason. What one deems tolerable now may be very crude a year from now. It's up to an administrator or moderator to weigh the importance of changing a rule. There is no foolproof way of doing this, and most of this will be based on experience and past situations.

Another thing one should realize is that people change. Many people seem to be blind to this. People change over time, and who you thought would be a good moderator now may be one of the worst, and vice versa. Just like being open to suggestions, one has to be open to the idea of changing their mind. As said before, weighing the importance is what matters.

Administrative decisions are almost never a black and white issue. Most ideal administrators are people who are open to suggestions, disallow emotions and personal opinions to influence a decision affecting the entire community, and are people who can professionally represent a site/forum well to people who have never been a part of it.

I believe an administrator doesn't need to have actual computer skills to run a forum/site. Running one is very much like a business, and is based on communication skills more than having the skills to cover each position in that business. My thoughts on a great team are two administrators. One with the skills to physically improve the forum, site, game, etc. and one who possesses the skills to actually make it happen. The second administrator usually has the ideas to implement, while the first can implement them.

As for last thoughts, diversity is important in a team. Having both males and females, people from all backgrounds, people of all skills, etc. can make decisions less biased. As long as each individual on a team speaks their mind the same, every opinion is voiced, and people can learn to agree to disagree.

In the case that a decision between moderators can't be made, that is why an administrator exists. An administrator will look at the situation and make a decision that is not to be questioned. In any pyramid representing this, that's an ideal way to run it. If a community can't make a decision, the moderators will. And if the moderators can't, the administrators will. The higher up you are, the more power you have. All kinds of ranks can be put in between, but the facts remains the same: everyone has an equal opinion, because no one is more right than someone else. If a decision can't be reached in a timely fashion, it is brought up to the next rank. In extreme cases if the administrators can't solve it, it's left to one person.

The person who is ultimately paying out of his/her pocket for the site.

[MarioNintendo]

I know nothing about ODI, I've never been part of the SM community... but I'd love to be part of that project.

[Kraezymann]

I may or may not help out. Graphics, files, ideas, whatever. We'll see how this goes.

Also, advertising - easy to advertise your site yes, but it can also be a source of income. Thoughts?

[AsphyxZero]

Originally Posted by MarioNintendo

I know nothing about ODI, I've never been part of the SM community... but I'd love to be part of that project.

Don't go to ODI, it's not a stepmania based site anymore lol. Mostly just hayden and tsutter and other people saying "lol durgs."

[Bluearrowll]

Alright I'm pissed off because I was making a relatively long post and then my internet disconnected and I lost it -_-

But basically I was saying that I feel its necessary that I post again to let people know that I provide my available support and I can do whatever's needed. I have contact with many people who do not browse the forums here so if "new community members are needed" I can reel people in.

Also an idea based off what people said here for stepmania would be to use the current stepmania client, but modify it such as how SMO does it; instead of logging into multiplayer though, it can be run through single player as well - and you simply log in after you choose what style you want to play (Singles, Solo, Doubles, etc.) and then based off where you log in, scores can be recorded as such on a database.

The token idea can be established in this way too, and when the results page comes up, a prompt such as FFR's can appear saying "You unlocked token x blablablabla".

I'm just brainstorming things though, apologies if these have already been said.

[Oni-Paranoia]

I don't come on for a day and there's 5 new pages... Shit needs to get organized.

A lot of people are offering there help on posts which is fine and dandy, but no one is keeping count or names, make a new thread or edit the first post in the future with members willing to help out with whatever they offer.

I actually think this should be done sooner than later. It seems the discussion in here would be easier solved with a few people that actually know what to do, no offense to the people who want to just throw there '$0.02' in the thread.

P.s. It would be very easy to optimize a theme + achievements IMO. Nothing difficult there.

[kommisar]

the only thing preventing me from going to back to stepmania.com is QED and the fact that not a whole lot of people like harder files

[ddrxero64]

Originally Posted by Kraezymann

I may or may not help out. Graphics, files, ideas, whatever. We'll see how this goes.

Also, advertising - easy to advertise your site yes, but it can also be a source of income. Thoughts?

Well define where the source of income comes from. Stepmania is freeware, and songs are copyrighted. What else could you provide that any other site couldn't?

When making ideas, it's easy to think of the end result. The hard part is knowing what will take you there.

[Jousway]

if you people are going to make an new forum and use phpbb I'm out, everything aside phpbb is okey with me

[Shikari]

Originally Posted by kommisar

the only thing preventing me from going to back to stepmania.com is QED and the fact that not a whole lot of people like harder files

Liking harder files is just a matter of practice. If we encourage new players to keep playing, with the achievements system, for example, we can bring more people to the "Hardcore" Stepmania.



Oni-Paranoia, you're right. I'll keep track on OP of who's helping with what.

Originally Posted by Bluearrowll

The token idea can be established in this way too, and when the results page comes up, a prompt such as FFR's can appear saying "You unlocked token x blablablabla".

Yes, I was thinking about that too, but we need to check with the SSC dev team if it's possible. Probably is, but still.

[Shikari]

OP updated. Please, read my edit.

[Bluearrowll]

Volunteered for the Scores Database & Tier Points page , i'd recommend that the packs that volunteers have to go through be posted though.

[Shikari]

Good idea, BA, I just updated OP with new volunteers and the packs they are playing.