Most people know my personal thoughts about this. The one thing that keeps me around anymore is this closed clan. I don't have to worry about trolling/flaming or instances of losing this clan like I did with 2o4duty .. I don't have to worry about my personal beliefs about the leader of the group attacking a clan memeber that wasn't in a joking manner that says suck it up as your an adult ..
I am one of the few members that like closed clans. However, I know that some clans will becomes open regardless of what I think.
Sorry Dood I just thought part of the process of discussion is pro's and cons, I could see a negative side to that particular idea....I suppose part of it is 2O4F don't function like other ..."Clans" as I understand them. We have an open door policy, ask to join and as long as you are 25 your in, if you are not a complete dick you stay...only seen one complete dick since I've been there.
They have to be able to post in the forum to ask questions, we cannot exclude them from the in game club because then they would not have access to the club garage where the series cars can be found and tested. So how exactly to we exclude a new member until they have posted X posts in the open forum? On top of that all you are going to get is a flurry of poor quality comments in random places until a new member has his post count, and that is going to add very little to the quality of what people see.
Sorry Dood I just thought part of the process of discussion is pro's and cons, I could see a negative side to that particular idea....I suppose part of it is 2O4F don't function like other ..."Clans" as I understand them. We have an open door policy, ask to join and as long as you are 25 your in, if you are not a complete dick you stay...only seen one complete dick since I've been there.
They have to be able to post in the forum to ask questions, we cannot exclude them from the in game club because then they would not have access to the club garage where the series cars can be found and tested. So how exactly to we exclude a new member until they have posted X posts in the open forum? On top of that all you are going to get is a flurry of poor quality comments in random places until a new member has his post count, and that is going to add very little to the quality of what people see.
The underlined.
That is a possibility. Everything new does not have to be bad though. If every new Clan candidate has been posting in public forums before getting imbedded into Clan/Group forums then they quite likely would keep posting there. At least they will have been introduced to a wider selection of the site's members through posting. Such systems can lead to more positive site involvement and support.
Attitude and demeanor show through the owners posts very quickly. Even through poor posts.
I'd add to the posting requirement that they be posts of reasonable content. Don't say anything else. IE At least 20 reasonable posts. That gives the Clan recruiter leeway and time to think.
While I like the idea of posting requirements for Clan entry I don't embrace it though. I don't doubt for a second that there are members of this site's Clans who are functionally illiterate, have difficulty forming and presenting ideas, fear of writing in a public situation and etc. No person, who can adequately perform in a game, should be excluded from playing with others in that game.
Not only that there is little being posted in the open forum I have anything to add to, and I have been making the effort. Two threads apart from this one and I have said all there is to say...It's not like I am shy, after all I have one of the highest post counts on the site, but they are related to the group I am with and what we do, and of little to no interest outside that group.
If the idea is to get new people to stay I can't see adding hoops to jump through as a positive step in that direction. Nuff said from me on that.
There is a strong American slant to the site, inevitable I guess considering that is it's founding roots and where many of it's members come from, I know in 2O4F there is a strong and active European contingent, in fact it would be true to say at the moment we are the most active with the most going on, I don't know if there is a way to reflect the growing Euro side or even if that is just reflected in our own corner of 2O2Play...Dood do you have those figures to hand?
The front page still looks like a bloggers site more than an active gaming community, and the top trending thread? "If you show boobs they will come"....sigh.
On a more serious note. I feel that a minimum post count before applying to a clan is a bad way to go. I've been on a forum that had a similar requirement and well it lead to 20 useless posts by me. Not to say my regular ones are anymore useful, just these were obviously bullshit. Sure we might have more posts counts in the public areas but will they be worth reading...
*Que the horror exclamation music*
***edit
Hey its obvious there are many sides of the story. Clans have become somewhat controversal of late but we can't deny their value. I think for the newcomer, and the old timers here, it would be a benefit to see whats so great about each clan by opening them up to be Readable by any site member. Have one topic called the GuestBook where non-clan members can leave comments, desire for membership, clan play dates/mixers and so on. Perhaps have a obvious notice button a clan can toggle on/off about whether they are recruiting or not. Kinda an amalgamation of the the clan forum and the old clan pages. (of course how hard that would be to do is beyond me)
If we could get a look into each others clan, I think it might be that needed incentive to come out from behind our walls and start exploring the rest of the site, making new friends, and encouraging others to stay a little while longer.
You guys have come up with some great ideas and please know I am not hating on anyone's idea, I am just suppling a counter point to it.
I think the one thing that has been lost in the discussion is this. The pressence of an ACTIVE public site. Getting members to contribute in discussions in the public forum is the main concern.
If you have new people/Advertisors/game companies come to the site looking for a thriving community, how are they going to know people are posting in closed forums? Think about it this way, a game title wants to pay for an add or background image on the site, but they want to see if people are actively posting. How are they supposed to see people posting in private forums? Doodi could make a module showing private post counts but that does nothing for them. Another way to think about it is like this, I am sure you guys have see those rolling billboard trucks traveling highways and freeways, well why don't they drive around in housing communites? They get their biggest bang for their buck by driving busy freeways and highways, where the highest perceived amount of people are at.
Ever heard from a neighbor/co-worker/friend/yelp that a particular club/eating place is great, then go there at "prime time" and see hardly anone there? What is the first throught that comes to mind? Hhmm this place is dead, must be something wrong with it. Now if that place was packed would you have the same thought?
The idea's of clan admins/mods pushing public topics to the main forum is good, IF, those topics can be commented on in the public forums. If this is something Doodi can code without breaking the site, slowing down the site, perfect. But what are we going to do if he cannot do this?
He has already consolidated the forums, he has already posted a running "hot topic" module. He has implemented a bunch of fixes people have asked for.
Having people post in the main forums X amount of times before they join a clan is a bandaid, only because what happens when they post their X amount of times, gain access to the private clan and then just start posting in the clan forum and not come out into the public forums? Are you going to have a clan admin/mod police the public post count of every member? I think Cotter and Church pro would have to quit whatever job, life, family time they had to do that for over 800 members. (this is an example not an accusation of Forza being the problem) What if they DON'T want to join a clan and the main forum is dead?
The best thing you can do to keep your clans private (this is MY opinion, please do not take it as the opinion of anyone else) is to post in the public forums. I would assume if there were just as many public posts as private post this whole discussion would not had to have been had.
Worried about posting in something that may get you flamed, fired or banned from public office? Then find/start a thread that does hit hot flaming/rage enducing topics. If you like cheese, comment in a cheese thread. If you RC cars (on of my favorite recent threads) then post in there.
And yes I know this is the internet and some how or some way a cheese thread could turn into hate spewed/pm back and forth/ rage fest about the validity if Velveta is good or not, but again this is the internet and no one should be surprised by anything they see on the net. The best thing you can do is ignore the troll and again if you feel you are being attacked please pm a mod or admin and we will look into it from both perspectives.
Getting members to contribute in discussions in the public forum is the main concern.
I agree that members contributing to the forum is the end result of a thriving community. But I disagree that it's the means. It's not as simple as "just post, and they will come".
People need a drive to post. Boobs and bacon will attract some demographics, sure. But they're not really sustainable topics that will grow a community. This is a gaming site. People need to game together. Some of the best posts when my clan was still active was the re-hash of the night's prior games - funny jokes, good shots, good games, etc.
Regularly scheduled, free for all to play, game nights will attract people and then drive people to talk about what happened - a nice little positive feedback loop. And all the active clans can still keep their clan nights as well.
I hate to throw out ideas and not be able to volunteer to carry them out myself...But surely there's got a be 2-3 people that, like Deep, could offer to host a game night (one for Halo, one for CoD, etc. etc.) - and keep at it weekly until the turnout of people ramps up. It doesn't need to be fancy with a lot of effort like Xbox's community nights...just simple and consistent (as in, don't look for a quick fix). The first target would simply be to re-engage the existing community, then grow it.
Getting members to contribute in discussions in the public forum is the main concern.
I agree that members contributing to the forum is the end result of a thriving community. But I disagree that it's the means. It's not as simple as "just post, and they will come".
People need a drive to post. Boobs and bacon will attract some demographics, sure. But they're not really sustainable topics that will grow a community. This is a gaming site. People need to game together. Some of the best posts when my clan was still active was the re-hash of the night's prior games - funny jokes, good shots, good games, etc.
Regularly scheduled, free for all to play, game nights will attract people and then drive people to talk about what happened - a nice little positive feedback loop. And all the active clans can still keep their clan nights as well.
I hate to throw out ideas and not be able to volunteer to carry them out myself...But surely there's got a be 2-3 people that, like Deep, could offer to host a game night (one for Halo, one for CoD, etc. etc.) - and keep at it weekly until the turnout of people ramps up. It doesn't need to be fancy with a lot of effort like Xbox's community nights...just simple and consistent (as in, don't look for a quick fix). The first target would simply be to re-engage the existing community, then grow it.
Agreed ^, LaLa does a good job for COD and I think 2fat has one coming up later this month for BF3.
I hate to throw out ideas and not be able to volunteer to carry them out myself...But surely there's got a be 2-3 people that, like Deep, could offer to host a game night (one for Halo, one for CoD, etc. etc.) - and keep at it weekly until the turnout of people ramps up. It doesn't need to be fancy with a lot of effort like Xbox's community nights...just simple and consistent (as in, don't look for a quick fix). The first target would simply be to re-engage the existing community, then grow it.
Well, it just so happens your idea is a reality. There is already one other person intertested in doing just that. We are just waiting a few weeks to sample the turn outs and then another Halo service may start.
I do not want my experimental service to live or die just on my preferred playstyle. What if a better idea comes along and my service dies? What if I like someone elses idea better than mine?
An important stepping stone is the setting and advertisement of the service and then provide it consistantly.
I hate to throw out ideas and not be able to volunteer to carry them out myself...But surely there's got a be 2-3 people that, like Deep, could offer to host a game night (one for Halo, one for CoD, etc. etc.) - and keep at it weekly until the turnout of people ramps up. It doesn't need to be fancy with a lot of effort like Xbox's community nights...just simple and consistent (as in, don't look for a quick fix). The first target would simply be to re-engage the existing community, then grow it.
Well, it just so happens your idea is a reality. There is already one other person intertested in doing just that. We are just waiting a few weeks to sample the turn outs and then another Halo service may start.
I do not want my experimental service to live or die just on my preferred playstyle. What if a better idea comes along and my service dies? What if I like someone elses idea better than mine?
An important stepping stone is the setting and advertisement of the service and then provide it consistantly.
I really should have never claimed it as my idea! I just saw what you did with that Thursday game night and thought it was a better approach than any other ideas thrown out there so far.
Retaining and engaging existing 2o2p members and attracting new 2o2p members require different strategies, IMO. And I totally agree that consistency is key...You can't just make a forum change, or have one play date, and then the next week declare that it didnt' work.
I hate to throw out ideas and not be able to volunteer to carry them out myself...But surely there's got a be 2-3 people that, like Deep, could offer to host a game night (one for Halo, one for CoD, etc. etc.) - and keep at it weekly until the turnout of people ramps up. It doesn't need to be fancy with a lot of effort like Xbox's community nights...just simple and consistent (as in, don't look for a quick fix). The first target would simply be to re-engage the existing community, then grow it.
Well, it just so happens your idea is a reality. There is already one other person intertested in doing just that. We are just waiting a few weeks to sample the turn outs and then another Halo service may start.
I do not want my experimental service to live or die just on my preferred playstyle. What if a better idea comes along and my service dies? What if I like someone elses idea better than mine?
An important stepping stone is the setting and advertisement of the service and then provide it consistantly.
I really should have never claimed it as my idea! I just saw what you did with that Thursday game night and thought it was a better approach than any other ideas thrown out there so far.
Retaining and engaging existing 2o2p members and attracting new 2o2p members require different strategies, IMO. And I totally agree that consistency is key...You can't just make a forum change, or have one play date, and then the next week declare that it didnt' work.
Just to further explain my Data point I've gone ahead and made a list of titles that WOULD be the top trending topics if the site using clan forums.
Do Clans Help - OR - Hinder 2old2play
EUSL V4 - 19 Aug First Race. 2x Track Changes!
Thursday Night Spec Racing Ideas.
After Halo 4 Launches...
Activity Based Gaming Groups - Whacky Idea Incoming
Now all of a sudden 2o2p looks more like a gaming site. Besides this posts which is trending at the top, every single other post is about video games. When you consider 3 of the posts are from private game areas it's fairly telling. If someone out side of 2o2p saw topics like these, I have a feeling they'd be much more inclined to poke around.
People need a drive to post. Boobs and bacon will attract some demographics, sure. But they're not really sustainable topics that will grow a community.
is this a banable offense?
i mean, if talk ill of boobs or bacon, you get stoned to death in some communities...
People need a drive to post. Boobs and bacon will attract some demographics, sure. But they're not really sustainable topics that will grow a community.
is this a banable offense?
i mean, if talk ill of boobs or bacon, you get stoned to death in some communities...
I know for some of you seeing boobs is a religious experience but I think we are all in agreement that this would be ok to talk about.
Under News and Updates or Talk Back, add a forum named "Clan Doings." At the top, you could have a sticky topic called "Looking for a Clan?" Clans that are actively looking for new members could have a thread describing their clan and who to contact. This could help new members who are looking for a clan.
The main body could consist of threads clan's want to share. New members to the site, clan less site members and other clan members would be free to respond to these threads. 2old2shoot could post about upcoming open mixers. 2old4forza could announce upcoming races and results. Clan's could post about their lans.
It could be a place for clans to interact and for new members to see that there are thriving clans with activity.
The big problem is that clans don't want play other clans anymore. They rather gang up and beat on Timmy. Or rank up in wwhatever game they are playin. It has nnothing to do with more games than Halo. There just isn't any sort of clan interaction.
This is even a problem within our clan. Interaction within our clan suffers as a result.
2o2p stats: can they be used to draw out some of the xp whores and rank-er uppers?
Hmm, I find all this interesting. Forza has one group, we all manage to play together nice most of the time, and any issues are over in a day as they are usually just a result of a race incident...We are split only by time zones. The whole idea of splitting into sub groups...well just hasn't happened and I don't think ever will. Must be just something about the way racing is stuctured and opposed to FPS for example....
Hey, I'm probably what most of you would refer to as a lurker. I'm not in any of the clans, a couple of people may know me and that's it. However I do come to his site everyday just to get information on some games or upcoming games. I don't post much, if I notice a topic I can help with or have an opinion on I will. Heck I don't really play games online, I use to play Halo every so often with Plato. What I'm getting at is there must be some of us on here that don't use the clans and are still around for the other stuff this site has to offer. It's an interesting and entertaining site. The only think someone like me would like to see is maybe more gaming "news" like stuff, that's if there is any interetest in keeping the fellows like me around....
The big problem is that clans don't want play other clans anymore. They rather gang up and beat on Timmy. Or rank up in wwhatever game they are playin. It has nnothing to do with more games than Halo. There just isn't any sort of clan interaction.
Actually this is really a good point.... It seems like before all this shooter XP gringing nonsense that COD made mainstream that forced us all to play public, we were playing VS each other in private matches way more than we do now. Some of my fondest memories of 2o2p were playing private match Gears, Modern Warfare 1 and GRAW. People don't seem to want to do that anymore becasuse developers punish you for playing private matches these days by awarding a fraction of the XP you get playing pub..
I guess that kind of mirrors what's going on here at the site. If you have a bunch of gamers play VS in private, the public participation numbers go down so match making quality goes down and it just creates a domino effect. So devs practically force you to play public these days.
Pesonally I find it adolecent and purile...ok shoot me, but it's not what I think should be at the top of the list of what the site has to offer.
Completely agree, but since the conversation can't be pulled from groups and there is little reason to discuss games out side of clan forums, you get a lot more off topic posts that trend to the top. I would actually use this data as a telling tale.
Case in point: Out of all 6 trending topics on 2o2p, only 1 of them is about actual gaming. If people want to know what type of vision I have for 2o2p, it would be to have 90% of those topics to actually be about games.
Currently what you see is a product of our enviorment on 2o2p. If game discussion came back to the forums, these posts would be much farther near the bottom. That's assuming people come to 2o2p to talk about games at all.
DATA TIME!
On the flip side, if I open up the search for trending topics to include clan forums we see a lot more posts about video games. Even in private forums we see higher views on gaming related material.
Completely agree, but since the conversation can't be pulled from groups and there is little reason to discuss games out side of clan forums, you get a lot more off topic posts that trend to the top. I would actually use this data as a telling tale.
Case in point: Out of all 6 trending topics on 2o2p, only 1 of them is about actual gaming. If people want to know what type of vision I have for 2o2p, it would be to have 90% of those topics to actually be about games.
Currently what you see is a product of our enviorment on 2o2p. If game discussion came back to the forums, these posts would be much farther near the bottom. That's assuming people come to 2o2p to talk about games at all.
DATA TIME!
On the flip side, if I open up the search for trending topics to include clan forums we see a lot more posts about video games. Even in private forums we see higher views on gaming related material.
Absolutely in some cases. In other cases, such as 2o2pHalo, out of the 25 topics on our current page, TWO of them are about gaming. So although that might be true in some cases, opening up 2o2pH may not give you any more Halo talk than anywhere else on the forum right now.
Give it a few months for the new games to come out, and that will probably change, but I think we'll be putting forth an effort to post more in the main forums about that stuff. For now, we are playing a game that is 2 years old, part of a franchise a LOT in our clan have been playing for over TEN years now, and game talk is just stale. I imagine (opinion of course) that this may be true with other gaming clans here as well. Not all, but some.
Completely agree, but since the conversation can't be pulled from groups and there is little reason to discuss games out side of clan forums, you get a lot more off topic posts that trend to the top. I would actually use this data as a telling tale.
Case in point: Out of all 6 trending topics on 2o2p, only 1 of them is about actual gaming. If people want to know what type of vision I have for 2o2p, it would be to have 90% of those topics to actually be about games.
Currently what you see is a product of our enviorment on 2o2p. If game discussion came back to the forums, these posts would be much farther near the bottom. That's assuming people come to 2o2p to talk about games at all.
DATA TIME!
On the flip side, if I open up the search for trending topics to include clan forums we see a lot more posts about video games. Even in private forums we see higher views on gaming related material.
Absolutely in some cases. In other cases, such as 2o2pHalo, out of the 25 topics on our current page, TWO of them are about gaming. So although that might be true in some cases, opening up 2o2pH may not give you any more Halo talk than anywhere else on the forum right now.
Give it a few months for the new games to come out, and that will probably change, but I think we'll be putting forth an effort to post more in the main forums about that stuff. For now, we are playing a game that is 2 years old, part of a franchise a LOT in our clan have been playing for over TEN years now, and game talk is just stale. I imagine (opinion of course) that this may be true with other gaming clans here as well. Not all, but some.
Until the AAA titles come out, there is not a lot to talk about. The site reflects this. Is there anyone here that thinks the gaming forums are not going to pick up once Borderland 2, Halo 4, Black Ops 2, Armored Kill for BF3, etc... arrive?
Completely agree, but since the conversation can't be pulled from groups and there is little reason to discuss games out side of clan forums, you get a lot more off topic posts that trend to the top. I would actually use this data as a telling tale.
Case in point: Out of all 6 trending topics on 2o2p, only 1 of them is about actual gaming. If people want to know what type of vision I have for 2o2p, it would be to have 90% of those topics to actually be about games.
Currently what you see is a product of our enviorment on 2o2p. If game discussion came back to the forums, these posts would be much farther near the bottom. That's assuming people come to 2o2p to talk about games at all.
DATA TIME!
On the flip side, if I open up the search for trending topics to include clan forums we see a lot more posts about video games. Even in private forums we see higher views on gaming related material.
Absolutely in some cases. In other cases, such as 2o2pHalo, out of the 25 topics on our current page, TWO of them are about gaming. So although that might be true in some cases, opening up 2o2pH may not give you any more Halo talk than anywhere else on the forum right now.
Give it a few months for the new games to come out, and that will probably change, but I think we'll be putting forth an effort to post more in the main forums about that stuff. For now, we are playing a game that is 2 years old, part of a franchise a LOT in our clan have been playing for over TEN years now, and game talk is just stale. I imagine (opinion of course) that this may be true with other gaming clans here as well. Not all, but some.
Until the AAA titles come out, there is not a lot to talk about. The site reflects this. Is there anyone here that thinks the gaming forums are not going to pick up once Borderland 2, Halo 4, Black Ops 2, Armored Kill for BF3, etc... arrive?
No, but then again this wasn't the point of my original quote. I was commenting on knights post about why we see the topics we do as the main trending topics on 2o2p publicly. While I agree private forums are bound to have far more private posts not relating to gaming, that wasn't what i was getting at. Just that the most popular posts site wide were that of GAMING and not private or off topic. Given that we are in fact in a gaming drought before the store, this is still fairly telling.
My SW:TOR guild isn't even part of this site (guild = clan for you mmorpg nubs). If I post something on their forum I also post it here. If I see someone post something interesting over there that I think should be shared with a larger audience, I'll post it here.
I have no idea if that helps, hurts, or is irrelevant. I just wanted to make a post in this epic topic.
The day I've picked is just an example so don't freak out just yet. We could make this a tradition without making to big a deal out of it. Kinda like Monday night Hockey.
Sitewide 2old2play Open Monday
No tourney stuff. No forced anything. Just a meet up on a chosen day every week. A possibility if you'd like. It doesn't require any work, just gamertags. Open Monday Halo, Open Monday COD etc...for all the big games, well small ones for that matter too. And we make it a tradition that at least one day a week we know we can find and play with any 2o2p members all over the site if we'd like. People for example that don't usually play Halo or have any friends that play halo could easily this way just pop the disc in on Monday because they'll know there will be someone playing it. Open Monday is of course all open rooms. All you need to do is to send out an FR to that games particular gamertag and then it's Monday night gaming. All 2o2p.
The day I've picked is just an example so don't freak out just yet. We could make this a tradition without making to big a deal out of it. Kinda like Monday night Hockey.
Sitewide 2old2play Open Monday
No tourney stuff. No forced anything. Just a meet up on a chosen day every week. A possibility if you'd like. It doesn't require any work, just gamertags. Open Monday Halo, Open Monday COD etc...for all the big games, well small ones for that matter too. And we make it a tradition that at least one day a week we know we can find and play with any 2o2p members all over the site if we'd like. People for example that don't usually play Halo or have any friends that play halo could easily this way just pop the disc in on Monday because they'll know there will be someone playing it. Open Monday is of course all open rooms. All you need to do is to send out an FR to that games particular gamertag and then it's Monday night gaming. All 2o2p.
Whaddya think?
Pros? Cons?
Well, isn't that what I've started on Thursday night?
Most people know my personal thoughts about this. The one thing that keeps me around anymore is this closed clan. I don't have to worry about trolling/flaming or instances of losing this clan like I did with 2o4duty .. I don't have to worry about my personal beliefs about the leader of the group attacking a clan memeber that wasn't in a joking manner that says suck it up as your an adult ..
I am one of the few members that like closed clans. However, I know that some clans will becomes open regardless of what I think.
Going back to the corner to piddle.
Sorry Dood I just thought part of the process of discussion is pro's and cons, I could see a negative side to that particular idea....I suppose part of it is 2O4F don't function like other ..."Clans" as I understand them. We have an open door policy, ask to join and as long as you are 25 your in, if you are not a complete dick you stay...only seen one complete dick since I've been there.
They have to be able to post in the forum to ask questions, we cannot exclude them from the in game club because then they would not have access to the club garage where the series cars can be found and tested. So how exactly to we exclude a new member until they have posted X posts in the open forum? On top of that all you are going to get is a flurry of poor quality comments in random places until a new member has his post count, and that is going to add very little to the quality of what people see.
That is a possibility. Everything new does not have to be bad though. If every new Clan candidate has been posting in public forums before getting imbedded into Clan/Group forums then they quite likely would keep posting there. At least they will have been introduced to a wider selection of the site's members through posting. Such systems can lead to more positive site involvement and support.
Attitude and demeanor show through the owners posts very quickly. Even through poor posts.
I'd add to the posting requirement that they be posts of reasonable content. Don't say anything else. IE At least 20 reasonable posts. That gives the Clan recruiter leeway and time to think.
While I like the idea of posting requirements for Clan entry I don't embrace it though. I don't doubt for a second that there are members of this site's Clans who are functionally illiterate, have difficulty forming and presenting ideas, fear of writing in a public situation and etc. No person, who can adequately perform in a game, should be excluded from playing with others in that game.
Not only that there is little being posted in the open forum I have anything to add to, and I have been making the effort. Two threads apart from this one and I have said all there is to say...It's not like I am shy, after all I have one of the highest post counts on the site, but they are related to the group I am with and what we do, and of little to no interest outside that group.
If the idea is to get new people to stay I can't see adding hoops to jump through as a positive step in that direction. Nuff said from me on that.
There is a strong American slant to the site, inevitable I guess considering that is it's founding roots and where many of it's members come from, I know in 2O4F there is a strong and active European contingent, in fact it would be true to say at the moment we are the most active with the most going on, I don't know if there is a way to reflect the growing Euro side or even if that is just reflected in our own corner of 2O2Play...Dood do you have those figures to hand?
The front page still looks like a bloggers site more than an active gaming community, and the top trending thread? "If you show boobs they will come"....sigh.
lol.
On a more serious note. I feel that a minimum post count before applying to a clan is a bad way to go. I've been on a forum that had a similar requirement and well it lead to 20 useless posts by me. Not to say my regular ones are anymore useful, just these were obviously bullshit. Sure we might have more posts counts in the public areas but will they be worth reading...
*Que the horror exclamation music*
***edit
Hey its obvious there are many sides of the story. Clans have become somewhat controversal of late but we can't deny their value. I think for the newcomer, and the old timers here, it would be a benefit to see whats so great about each clan by opening them up to be Readable by any site member. Have one topic called the GuestBook where non-clan members can leave comments, desire for membership, clan play dates/mixers and so on. Perhaps have a obvious notice button a clan can toggle on/off about whether they are recruiting or not. Kinda an amalgamation of the the clan forum and the old clan pages. (of course how hard that would be to do is beyond me)
If we could get a look into each others clan, I think it might be that needed incentive to come out from behind our walls and start exploring the rest of the site, making new friends, and encouraging others to stay a little while longer.
You guys have come up with some great ideas and please know I am not hating on anyone's idea, I am just suppling a counter point to it.
I think the one thing that has been lost in the discussion is this. The pressence of an ACTIVE public site. Getting members to contribute in discussions in the public forum is the main concern.
If you have new people/Advertisors/game companies come to the site looking for a thriving community, how are they going to know people are posting in closed forums? Think about it this way, a game title wants to pay for an add or background image on the site, but they want to see if people are actively posting. How are they supposed to see people posting in private forums? Doodi could make a module showing private post counts but that does nothing for them. Another way to think about it is like this, I am sure you guys have see those rolling billboard trucks traveling highways and freeways, well why don't they drive around in housing communites? They get their biggest bang for their buck by driving busy freeways and highways, where the highest perceived amount of people are at.
Ever heard from a neighbor/co-worker/friend/yelp that a particular club/eating place is great, then go there at "prime time" and see hardly anone there? What is the first throught that comes to mind? Hhmm this place is dead, must be something wrong with it. Now if that place was packed would you have the same thought?
The idea's of clan admins/mods pushing public topics to the main forum is good, IF, those topics can be commented on in the public forums. If this is something Doodi can code without breaking the site, slowing down the site, perfect. But what are we going to do if he cannot do this?
He has already consolidated the forums, he has already posted a running "hot topic" module. He has implemented a bunch of fixes people have asked for.
Having people post in the main forums X amount of times before they join a clan is a bandaid, only because what happens when they post their X amount of times, gain access to the private clan and then just start posting in the clan forum and not come out into the public forums? Are you going to have a clan admin/mod police the public post count of every member? I think Cotter and Church pro would have to quit whatever job, life, family time they had to do that for over 800 members. (this is an example not an accusation of Forza being the problem) What if they DON'T want to join a clan and the main forum is dead?
The best thing you can do to keep your clans private (this is MY opinion, please do not take it as the opinion of anyone else) is to post in the public forums. I would assume if there were just as many public posts as private post this whole discussion would not had to have been had.
Worried about posting in something that may get you flamed, fired or banned from public office? Then find/start a thread that does hit hot flaming/rage enducing topics. If you like cheese, comment in a cheese thread. If you RC cars (on of my favorite recent threads) then post in there.
And yes I know this is the internet and some how or some way a cheese thread could turn into hate spewed/pm back and forth/ rage fest about the validity if Velveta is good or not, but again this is the internet and no one should be surprised by anything they see on the net. The best thing you can do is ignore the troll and again if you feel you are being attacked please pm a mod or admin and we will look into it from both perspectives.
I agree that members contributing to the forum is the end result of a thriving community. But I disagree that it's the means. It's not as simple as "just post, and they will come".
People need a drive to post. Boobs and bacon will attract some demographics, sure. But they're not really sustainable topics that will grow a community. This is a gaming site. People need to game together. Some of the best posts when my clan was still active was the re-hash of the night's prior games - funny jokes, good shots, good games, etc.
Regularly scheduled, free for all to play, game nights will attract people and then drive people to talk about what happened - a nice little positive feedback loop. And all the active clans can still keep their clan nights as well.
I hate to throw out ideas and not be able to volunteer to carry them out myself...But surely there's got a be 2-3 people that, like Deep, could offer to host a game night (one for Halo, one for CoD, etc. etc.) - and keep at it weekly until the turnout of people ramps up. It doesn't need to be fancy with a lot of effort like Xbox's community nights...just simple and consistent (as in, don't look for a quick fix). The first target would simply be to re-engage the existing community, then grow it.
Agreed ^, LaLa does a good job for COD and I think 2fat has one coming up later this month for BF3.
I do not want my experimental service to live or die just on my preferred playstyle. What if a better idea comes along and my service dies? What if I like someone elses idea better than mine?
An important stepping stone is the setting and advertisement of the service and then provide it consistantly.
I really should have never claimed it as my idea! I just saw what you did with that Thursday game night and thought it was a better approach than any other ideas thrown out there so far.
Retaining and engaging existing 2o2p members and attracting new 2o2p members require different strategies, IMO. And I totally agree that consistency is key...You can't just make a forum change, or have one play date, and then the next week declare that it didnt' work.
Just to further explain my Data point I've gone ahead and made a list of titles that WOULD be the top trending topics if the site using clan forums.
is this a banable offense?
i mean, if talk ill of boobs or bacon, you get stoned to death in some communities...
I know for some of you seeing boobs is a religious experience but I think we are all in agreement that this would be ok to talk about.
Here is an idea:
Under News and Updates or Talk Back, add a forum named "Clan Doings." At the top, you could have a sticky topic called "Looking for a Clan?" Clans that are actively looking for new members could have a thread describing their clan and who to contact. This could help new members who are looking for a clan.
The main body could consist of threads clan's want to share. New members to the site, clan less site members and other clan members would be free to respond to these threads. 2old2shoot could post about upcoming open mixers. 2old4forza could announce upcoming races and results. Clan's could post about their lans.
It could be a place for clans to interact and for new members to see that there are thriving clans with activity.
BF3 playdate in case people do not get over to the BF forum.
This is even a problem within our clan. Interaction within our clan suffers as a result.
2o2p stats: can they be used to draw out some of the xp whores and rank-er uppers?
Hmm, I find all this interesting. Forza has one group, we all manage to play together nice most of the time, and any issues are over in a day as they are usually just a result of a race incident...We are split only by time zones. The whole idea of splitting into sub groups...well just hasn't happened and I don't think ever will. Must be just something about the way racing is stuctured and opposed to FPS for example....
Hey, I'm probably what most of you would refer to as a lurker. I'm not in any of the clans, a couple of people may know me and that's it. However I do come to his site everyday just to get information on some games or upcoming games. I don't post much, if I notice a topic I can help with or have an opinion on I will. Heck I don't really play games online, I use to play Halo every so often with Plato. What I'm getting at is there must be some of us on here that don't use the clans and are still around for the other stuff this site has to offer. It's an interesting and entertaining site. The only think someone like me would like to see is maybe more gaming "news" like stuff, that's if there is any interetest in keeping the fellows like me around....
Actually this is really a good point.... It seems like before all this shooter XP gringing nonsense that COD made mainstream that forced us all to play public, we were playing VS each other in private matches way more than we do now. Some of my fondest memories of 2o2p were playing private match Gears, Modern Warfare 1 and GRAW. People don't seem to want to do that anymore becasuse developers punish you for playing private matches these days by awarding a fraction of the XP you get playing pub..
I guess that kind of mirrors what's going on here at the site. If you have a bunch of gamers play VS in private, the public participation numbers go down so match making quality goes down and it just creates a domino effect. So devs practically force you to play public these days.
Pesonally I find it adolecent and purile...ok shoot me, but it's not what I think should be at the top of the list of what the site has to offer.
Completely agree, but since the conversation can't be pulled from groups and there is little reason to discuss games out side of clan forums, you get a lot more off topic posts that trend to the top. I would actually use this data as a telling tale.
Case in point: Out of all 6 trending topics on 2o2p, only 1 of them is about actual gaming. If people want to know what type of vision I have for 2o2p, it would be to have 90% of those topics to actually be about games.
Currently what you see is a product of our enviorment on 2o2p. If game discussion came back to the forums, these posts would be much farther near the bottom. That's assuming people come to 2o2p to talk about games at all.
DATA TIME!
On the flip side, if I open up the search for trending topics to include clan forums we see a lot more posts about video games. Even in private forums we see higher views on gaming related material.
Absolutely in some cases. In other cases, such as 2o2pHalo, out of the 25 topics on our current page, TWO of them are about gaming. So although that might be true in some cases, opening up 2o2pH may not give you any more Halo talk than anywhere else on the forum right now.
Give it a few months for the new games to come out, and that will probably change, but I think we'll be putting forth an effort to post more in the main forums about that stuff. For now, we are playing a game that is 2 years old, part of a franchise a LOT in our clan have been playing for over TEN years now, and game talk is just stale. I imagine (opinion of course) that this may be true with other gaming clans here as well. Not all, but some.
Until the AAA titles come out, there is not a lot to talk about. The site reflects this. Is there anyone here that thinks the gaming forums are not going to pick up once Borderland 2, Halo 4, Black Ops 2, Armored Kill for BF3, etc... arrive?
No, but then again this wasn't the point of my original quote. I was commenting on knights post about why we see the topics we do as the main trending topics on 2o2p publicly. While I agree private forums are bound to have far more private posts not relating to gaming, that wasn't what i was getting at. Just that the most popular posts site wide were that of GAMING and not private or off topic. Given that we are in fact in a gaming drought before the store, this is still fairly telling.
Exactly.
My SW:TOR guild isn't even part of this site (guild = clan for you mmorpg nubs). If I post something on their forum I also post it here. If I see someone post something interesting over there that I think should be shared with a larger audience, I'll post it here.
I have no idea if that helps, hurts, or is irrelevant. I just wanted to make a post in this epic topic.
Ok here's an idea.
The day I've picked is just an example so don't freak out just yet. We could make this a tradition without making to big a deal out of it. Kinda like Monday night Hockey.
Sitewide 2old2play Open Monday
No tourney stuff. No forced anything. Just a meet up on a chosen day every week. A possibility if you'd like. It doesn't require any work, just gamertags. Open Monday Halo, Open Monday COD etc...for all the big games, well small ones for that matter too. And we make it a tradition that at least one day a week we know we can find and play with any 2o2p members all over the site if we'd like. People for example that don't usually play Halo or have any friends that play halo could easily this way just pop the disc in on Monday because they'll know there will be someone playing it. Open Monday is of course all open rooms. All you need to do is to send out an FR to that games particular gamertag and then it's Monday night gaming. All 2o2p.
Whaddya think?
Pros? Cons?
http://www.2old2play.com/forum/divisions/halo-series/thursday-night-casual-competitive-open-halo-reach-498408
Did you mean something else?