Thorn Darkblade
I know lots of things. Lots of things...
Okay, well, as a mod, I can pretty much pitch these ideas to you guys whenever I want, but, as is, they are only half baked, and a couple honestly are outright pipe dreams, but, figured I'd make a sexy thread to brainstorm and elaborate on some of my ideas, considering how well the site is growing.
Suggestion 1- Radio/Youtube: Yes, this beaten dead horse is still floating in my head. Right now I do realize it's a virtual impossibility due to streaming/copyright laws. I've done research into it, and it'll cost a MINIMUM of 20 dollars a month. We definitely can't afford that, so the streaming music idea I am putting aside to pester again about when we hit the 3-4k member mark. HOWEVER, it is NOT illegal for us to host our own non-copyrighted stuff, or stuff that is copyrighted by the website itself. Our community does attract some of those with artistic natures. Podcasts of member-made music, or just radio shows, as a start. Worth looking into. Maybe recording Q&A on Teamspeak about certain RPG systems, then podcasting it? These are just ideas, mind you, and I'd like to hear more. Also, this can technically grow into the realm of video as well, should it catch on. A YouTube channel might be an investment in the future.
Suggestion 2- Chatroom: IRC is out of the question, and the old chatroom people disliked because it didn't update when tabbed out. However, I've been hearing from several members that they'd like to join a chat-based game once again. Teamspeak is alright for it, but, we've got a talented admin crew that I have faith in. Certainly there's always room for improvement? To add onto this pipe dream, a suite similar to some of the virtual tabletops out there (Like the one I know you use for your Pathfinder game, Wiz). Allowing images to be displayed, emotes for characters, and various dice rolls. Mind you, as the title says, these are suggestions, not demands. A bare boned chatroom would be nice, but shiny features are shiny.
Suggestion 3- More Partners: Okay, this is a double edged sword. As communities grow, we will have more weeds to pick out. But for every couple bad folks we get in, we'll also get more brilliant minds, like Grey and Calgori (yes, pat yourselves on the back, but you're two examples of many). We're small now, and while that does give us a cozy family-like feel, I think fresh blood adds new ideas in. This idea was discussed briefly in passing by some of you higher-ups, such as updating our Dark Pack membership with White Wolf, but, I think we can expand on that. It's great we're showing up as the 3rd Google result for 'Exalted Forums', but, what if we can show up on the front page when someone looks up 'rpg forums' ? Once again, just a suggestion. I understand growing pains happen with stuff like this (hell, they certainly happened with the merger), such as needing more staff to manage things, making sure the site doesn't break with the extra traffic, and so on. I'm just pointing towards our potential. This thing's getting big, so, our wonderful staff, take a bow. Brilliant job, I'm just hoping for even more.
Suggestion 4- Game/Event Calendar: I think the one design-a-character contest didn't get a lot of love because folks forgot about it. Also, if the chatroom suggestion happens, and more chat-based games happen, a calendar could be useful. Site events, contests, game schedules, etc., could be put on it. A nice easy button, and maybe even a one-week look ahead on the front page. Nice and quick, and an easy reminder.
Suggestion 5- Private Forums: While I am not condoning cybersex or anything of the sort, some games, especially those of occult/horror variety (World of Darkness, Call of Cthulhu, and the like) can touch on many adult themes. Stuff we don't want someone just paging through on a Google search to read. Everything being nice and accessible is awesome for showing how active we are, but, if possible, I'd think it'd be awesome to be able to hide a NSFW game from the general public. Usergroups, maybe? Obviously we'd have to patrol these things a bit to make sure they don't turn into scums of porn and scatological fetishes, but, -most- of us are mature enough here to not exploit such a feature (and risk getting it taken away)
Suggestion 6- Social Media: Honest question: Do we have a Facebook? A tumblr? A (le gasp) MySpace? As silly as social media is, let's be honest, it's free advertising and damn near everyone uses it. Might be worth looking into. Just please don't devolve into petty drama, although I doubt you will. Huzzah maturity! I mean, we've already got Facebook logins synced here, but let's expand.
Suggestion 7- Gaming Convention: Ah, now we cross into our true pipedream section. This isn't exactly a serious suggestion, especially given our small size, but more a possibility if we grow to effin' epic proportions. Small conventions are popping up across the states as GenCon proves time and again not to be as awesome as it once was. If we get the membership high enough to warrant such a thing, a small scale test might be an awesome idea. I mean, gamers don't ALWAYS have to hide behind their glowing screens, do they? Main reason I even suggest this is a tiny anime fandom site I was a part of in my early high school days has actually grown to this point. 31k members (half of which are probably inactive, but still, 15k is nothing to sneeze at), at least 200 on even in the dead of night, with upwards of 2k on during prime hours, and now hosting their own convention in London. So, while right now it might seem a little ridiculous, it might not seem as crazy in another year or two of growth.
Suggestion 8- Expand Our Borders: I've seen small sites like this grow to something big, and honestly, our community is currently pushing the borders of merely being an RPG site. We do video game streams, hosting some other stuff (do we still have a minecraft server from Wayward?), have a nice section for creativity, and the groundwork laid for so much more. Art contests, story contests, character building... Hell, I might even run a Burn Legend tournament with prizes at some point. Anyways, the point is, let's think above and beyond of just roleplaying. That's our core, yes, but our core is solid as all hell, so, time to roll out a bit.
So, as I said several times, these are all suggestions, and are all unfinished. I fully expect awesome ideas to refine them, from both staff and other members. Hell, maybe this'll inspire people to post their own ideas. In any case, if even one of these causes the site to grow, my job here is done.
Suggestion 1- Radio/Youtube: Yes, this beaten dead horse is still floating in my head. Right now I do realize it's a virtual impossibility due to streaming/copyright laws. I've done research into it, and it'll cost a MINIMUM of 20 dollars a month. We definitely can't afford that, so the streaming music idea I am putting aside to pester again about when we hit the 3-4k member mark. HOWEVER, it is NOT illegal for us to host our own non-copyrighted stuff, or stuff that is copyrighted by the website itself. Our community does attract some of those with artistic natures. Podcasts of member-made music, or just radio shows, as a start. Worth looking into. Maybe recording Q&A on Teamspeak about certain RPG systems, then podcasting it? These are just ideas, mind you, and I'd like to hear more. Also, this can technically grow into the realm of video as well, should it catch on. A YouTube channel might be an investment in the future.
Suggestion 2- Chatroom: IRC is out of the question, and the old chatroom people disliked because it didn't update when tabbed out. However, I've been hearing from several members that they'd like to join a chat-based game once again. Teamspeak is alright for it, but, we've got a talented admin crew that I have faith in. Certainly there's always room for improvement? To add onto this pipe dream, a suite similar to some of the virtual tabletops out there (Like the one I know you use for your Pathfinder game, Wiz). Allowing images to be displayed, emotes for characters, and various dice rolls. Mind you, as the title says, these are suggestions, not demands. A bare boned chatroom would be nice, but shiny features are shiny.
Suggestion 3- More Partners: Okay, this is a double edged sword. As communities grow, we will have more weeds to pick out. But for every couple bad folks we get in, we'll also get more brilliant minds, like Grey and Calgori (yes, pat yourselves on the back, but you're two examples of many). We're small now, and while that does give us a cozy family-like feel, I think fresh blood adds new ideas in. This idea was discussed briefly in passing by some of you higher-ups, such as updating our Dark Pack membership with White Wolf, but, I think we can expand on that. It's great we're showing up as the 3rd Google result for 'Exalted Forums', but, what if we can show up on the front page when someone looks up 'rpg forums' ? Once again, just a suggestion. I understand growing pains happen with stuff like this (hell, they certainly happened with the merger), such as needing more staff to manage things, making sure the site doesn't break with the extra traffic, and so on. I'm just pointing towards our potential. This thing's getting big, so, our wonderful staff, take a bow. Brilliant job, I'm just hoping for even more.
Suggestion 4- Game/Event Calendar: I think the one design-a-character contest didn't get a lot of love because folks forgot about it. Also, if the chatroom suggestion happens, and more chat-based games happen, a calendar could be useful. Site events, contests, game schedules, etc., could be put on it. A nice easy button, and maybe even a one-week look ahead on the front page. Nice and quick, and an easy reminder.
Suggestion 5- Private Forums: While I am not condoning cybersex or anything of the sort, some games, especially those of occult/horror variety (World of Darkness, Call of Cthulhu, and the like) can touch on many adult themes. Stuff we don't want someone just paging through on a Google search to read. Everything being nice and accessible is awesome for showing how active we are, but, if possible, I'd think it'd be awesome to be able to hide a NSFW game from the general public. Usergroups, maybe? Obviously we'd have to patrol these things a bit to make sure they don't turn into scums of porn and scatological fetishes, but, -most- of us are mature enough here to not exploit such a feature (and risk getting it taken away)
Suggestion 6- Social Media: Honest question: Do we have a Facebook? A tumblr? A (le gasp) MySpace? As silly as social media is, let's be honest, it's free advertising and damn near everyone uses it. Might be worth looking into. Just please don't devolve into petty drama, although I doubt you will. Huzzah maturity! I mean, we've already got Facebook logins synced here, but let's expand.
Suggestion 7- Gaming Convention: Ah, now we cross into our true pipedream section. This isn't exactly a serious suggestion, especially given our small size, but more a possibility if we grow to effin' epic proportions. Small conventions are popping up across the states as GenCon proves time and again not to be as awesome as it once was. If we get the membership high enough to warrant such a thing, a small scale test might be an awesome idea. I mean, gamers don't ALWAYS have to hide behind their glowing screens, do they? Main reason I even suggest this is a tiny anime fandom site I was a part of in my early high school days has actually grown to this point. 31k members (half of which are probably inactive, but still, 15k is nothing to sneeze at), at least 200 on even in the dead of night, with upwards of 2k on during prime hours, and now hosting their own convention in London. So, while right now it might seem a little ridiculous, it might not seem as crazy in another year or two of growth.
Suggestion 8- Expand Our Borders: I've seen small sites like this grow to something big, and honestly, our community is currently pushing the borders of merely being an RPG site. We do video game streams, hosting some other stuff (do we still have a minecraft server from Wayward?), have a nice section for creativity, and the groundwork laid for so much more. Art contests, story contests, character building... Hell, I might even run a Burn Legend tournament with prizes at some point. Anyways, the point is, let's think above and beyond of just roleplaying. That's our core, yes, but our core is solid as all hell, so, time to roll out a bit.
So, as I said several times, these are all suggestions, and are all unfinished. I fully expect awesome ideas to refine them, from both staff and other members. Hell, maybe this'll inspire people to post their own ideas. In any case, if even one of these causes the site to grow, my job here is done.
. . . making a chat is not easy and none of us have the skill do it and the only chat for xF right now is 70 dollars, so if people wanted that we could raise the money or something.
! I'm the one that typically deals with the google magic. Always being worked on. Unfortunately white-wolf emailed me back stating that Dark pack is getting discontinued. But we will continue to get more affiliates with other communities. Try to partner with some real companies and just continue to try to be the best RP site out there 
).
