IDEA! :O




Posted by Ant

I've had this on my mind for some time now but have for some reason been neglecting to say anything of it. Regardless, I was thinking we should really consider downsizing of sorts, or condense the forums into a much more manageable area. For example, instead of every single Nintendo system getting it's own forum it would be messed together all into one area called "Nintendo" in the same sense that "Xbox" and "Playstation" have their respective areas.

As for game-specific forums, some should be axed while others should stay but be made as subforums into the aforementioned main systems area. Like the Smash forum would be a subforum of the "Nintendo" forum.

Call me crazy, but I think if some BIG CHANGES were made around here, activity would boost as a byproduct of such.




Posted by maian

This idea has been proposed so many times. Here's what you must remember: Our admin is JESSE SMITH LOL




Posted by Jesse Smith


Quoting Ant: I was thinking we should really consider downsizing of sorts.


I agree. When should I delete Darkness Advanced...and Junior Seniors PMS blog!!!! :D:D:D:D

psst, this is a video game forum. If any thing should be 'downsized' it's non-video game stuff. If anything, video game stuff...should be up-sized!!! OK, when should I make da extra Playstation forums!!! :D:D:D


Quoting maian: Here's what you must remember: Our admin is JESSE SMITH LOL


And da admin also just might be...WackoHater!!!!!!!! :D:D:D:D



Posted by Stalolin

best idea ever

not even joking

it would make it a **** ton easier for people to find boards

and then we could post anything we wanted regarding that company/console




Posted by S

Actually, it wouldn't be a bad idea to at least mesh the forums. Specific game forums being subforums of its respective systems, etc. But, that may not harness new members because upon first glance they won't see what they like.




Posted by Jesse Smith

[QUOTE=S




Posted by S

It will, on the other hand, be more appealing to members like us, "Lifers." The forum is ugly as ****, normal people with an IQ would cringe at this color scheme. The fact that we're immune is a sad fact.




Posted by Jesse Smith

duh...adding or deleting da forums has nothing to do with da color scheme!!!!

Black, green, and orange iz kool!!!! :D:D:D




Posted by S

Cleaning up in general, etc.




Posted by maian

I actually love VGC's color scheme. :cool2:




Posted by S

I say we burn Maian at the stake. All in favor?




Posted by Linkman

We definitely should do something. VGC has gone from averaging around 300 members visiting each day to less than 100 most days, and trust me there's a few more considering leaving (ones like Sabredog, and aren't gonna just come back after a week). Believe me, there's another video game oriented website a few active members here have considered migrating to. Ant probably knows which one I speak of.

Anyway, more doesn't always mean better, and a ton of these forums we could do without. You could probably get by compacting the 40+ forums we have now into about 15 forums. Both Ant and S




Posted by Ant


Quoting Jesse Smith: DING!!! DING!!! DING!!!!!!! WE HAVE A WINNER!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Da last thing we need iz da index page having half da forums that show up...not even be related to video games. Gah!!! Only some one with da IQ of an ant would come up with dis crazy idea!!!!!! I say we make more video game sections!! *cough* Final Fantasy *cough* :D:D:D


right now if I were a new member first seeing this site I would think it was either A) A dead forum, or B) a poorly run one. And honestly, I think my first impression would probably be the right one. Seeing that list of moderators on the side empty is a pretty bad sign in itself. And to top that off when the "PSP" forum hasn't had anyone post in it for over a month, or the "Fighting Games" since early November and the Zelda forum since 11-26-08 I'd figure it dead.

ninja edit: yeah what linkman said. I'd like it if the rest of the moderation team would also give their support. :amy:



Posted by Alastor

i am a moderator and i approve ant's message




Posted by maian

Listen to Linkman and Ant, Jesse. It would really be a good idea. This isn't a dead forum, it's a ton of semi dead forums that make the overall picture look dead. ;|




Posted by Jesse Smith


Quoting Ant: Seeing that list of moderators on the side empty is a pretty bad sign in itself.


er...if you guys wern't so power hungry.... :D Last I checked you guys didn't want more moderators!!!!! :D:D:D

er I vote that da Sports forum get's deleted and da threads get moved to Off Topic!! Same with da Art and Graphics forum!!!! Oh, and how about da Instant Messages forum. It's only got posts added to six threads...THIS YEAR!!!!!!!!!!



Posted by maian

We don't need any more moderators, and we don't need to lose any. Well, there's already a large group of mods that are inactive. If we merged the boards, it'd be really easy to also merge most of the mods, methinks.

Ad for the art and graphics board, I would vote that it stay. Boards like Sports can easily be asborbed by Off Topic, but an arts/graphics board is a good thing to have, even if the activity is inconsistent.




Posted by Ant

Actually the Instant Messages forum should be merged with the Technology forum as a subforum.

At this point in time the other gaming related forums for the most part do not merit having their own forums and thusly should be condensed together into a few major groups that way it will be a much cleaner and much more approachable site for newer members.




Posted by maian

I vote the game specific forums that do exist turn into subforums.




Posted by Ant

some would apply to both :/ like megaman, fighting games, sonic. eh. but I could see maybe pokemon and smash being subforums in the Nintendo section.




Posted by Jesse Smith


Quoting maian: We don't need any more moderators, and we don't need to lose any.


er, I don't know!!!! I hear that's a really crazy mod from Endor, Colorado that might need to be removed!!! :D:D:D:D

Bah!!! I smell a conspiracy....make da index page look like there is less video game fourms!!!!! Make it look more like a Off Topic forum!!! Bah!!!!



Posted by maian

Okay, MY VISION:


Gaming
-Future Systems and Games
-General Gaming Chat
-----RPGs Subforum
-----MMOs Subforum
-Nintendo
-----DS/Portable Subforum
-----Super Smash Subforum
-Playstation
-----PSP Subforum
-----Kingdom Hearts subforum (I guess)
-Xbox

Off Topic
-Off Topic
-----Anime Subforum
-----Movies and TV Subforum
-----Music Subforum
-----Literature Subforum
-Polls
-War Board
-Community Board
-----Posting Games subforum
-Wacko University
-Technology and Computing
-----IM Subforum
-Art and Graphics
-----Member Pictures subforum
-Buy, Sell, and Trade (Does anybody even use this?)
-Sim Battle

Board Stuff
-Board Help/Suggestions
-Intro Board
-Mod Board

This effectively axes:
-Gamecube
-Game Boy
-Nintendo 64
-Super NES
-NES
-Virtual Boy
-Other Systems
-Pokemon
-Mega Man
-Sonic
-Zelda
-Fighting Games
-Metroid
-Mario/Yoshi
-Sports

However, that's just how I envision it. Opinions?




Posted by Jesse Smith


Quoting maian: Okay, MY VISION:

Kill the video game forums. Opinions?


Um...last I checked, this is a video game forum, not an Off Topic forum!!! Your vision has been shot out da window!!!! :D:D:D



Posted by Alastor

getting rid of boards that get like 1-5 new posts a month, if that?

worst idea ever, maian. you should feel terrible.




Posted by Ant

I think the main thing I want to emphasize here is that they aren't being gotten rid of, just merged. So all the posts within the boards wouldn't be lost.




Posted by Linkman

You did that many years ago, Jesse when you created this place with many non-video game related forums. Long before most of us were even here. It's very possible to downplay this place, a LOT. Here's my proposal:

-----

Gaming
[list]
[*]Future Systems and Games
[color=lightgray]Anything pertaining to the future of video games, consoles, and rumors

[*]General Gaming Chat
General video game discussion.
[list]
[*]RPGs and MMORPGs
Role-Playing and Massively-Multiplayer Online games.
[/list]
[*]Nintendo Consoles
[list]
[*]DS/Portable
[*]Super Smash Bros.
[/list]
[*]Playstation Consoles
[*]Xbox Consoles
[*]Other Consoles
Consoles not covered above, such as Atari, Sega, Arcade, etc..
[/list]
Off Topic
[list]
[*]Off Topic
All things unrelated to games can be discussed here.
[list]
[*]Movies, Television, and Anime
[*]Music
[*]Books
[/list]
[*]Community Board
Anything pertaining to yourself or the Video Game Chat community.
[list]
[*]Member Pictures, Videos, and Audio
Post pictures, videos, or audio of yourself here.
[/list]
[*]War Board
Topics liable to start arguments. Religion, politics, government, etc.. go here.
[*]Technology and Computing
Anything technology or computer related.
[/list]
Board Stuff
[list]
[*]Board Help, Suggestions, and Complaints
Get help or post any suggestions and complaints you have here.
[*]Introduction Board
If you're new to the forums, introduce yourself here.
[*]Moderators
The mods are ***s!
[/list]
Blogs
[list]
[*]Wacko University (or put it in Off Topic if you so please)
[*]Posting Games
[*]Sim Battle
[*]Darkness Advance
[*]-others-
[/list][/color]

-----

That's about all that's needed to no only sustain the popular topics, but it basically covers all grounds most gamers are into. I'm sure people might have suggestions though.




Posted by Alastor

Not positive that Anime should be tossed in with Movies/TV, but otherwise good.




Posted by Ant

Anime is kinda of a tricky one to place. It has it's own pretty diverse fanbase, but initself it is technically TV(albiet in Japan).

So I'd probably have it to where Art, Music, Anime, and Movies&TV still had there own forums on the front page.




Posted by Linkman

Then I'd say give it it's own forum under Off Topic, like maian did. That was really the only one I had a problem placing, because it does have unique circumstances. That's not really a big deal though, considering Anime is usually big amongst gamers. What I was aimed to do was compact as many OT forums into smaller sections (Maian pretty much nailed the gaming secion). Like for example, don't need Polls (can go in Off Topic), Art (Can go in Community), Instant Messages (can go in T&C or even Community), and so on.




Posted by Ant

fine with art being a sub of community. but still think the other 3(movies&tv, anime, music) should get their own front page forums.




Posted by maian


Quoting Linkman: You did that many years ago, Jesse when you created this place with many non-video game related forums. Long before most of us were even here. It's very possible to downplay this place, a LOT. Here's my proposal:

-----

Gaming
[list]
[*]Future Systems and Games
[color=lightgray]Anything pertaining to the future of video games, consoles, and rumors

[*]General Gaming Chat
General video game discussion.
[list]
[*]RPGs and MMORPGs
Role-Playing and Massively-Multiplayer Online games.
[/list]
[*]Nintendo Consoles
[list]
[*]DS/Portable
[*]Super Smash Bros.
[/list]
[*]Playstation Consoles
[*]Xbox Consoles
[*]Other Consoles
Consoles not covered above, such as Atari, Sega, Arcade, etc..
[/list]
Off Topic
[list]
[*]Off Topic
All things unrelated to games can be discussed here.
[list]
[*]Movies, Television, and Anime
[*]Music
[*]Books
[/list]
[*]Community Board
Anything pertaining to yourself or the Video Game Chat community.
[list]
[*]Member Pictures, Videos, and Audio
Post pictures, videos, or audio of yourself here.
[/list]
[*]War Board
Topics liable to start arguments. Religion, politics, government, etc.. go here.
[*]Technology and Computing
Anything technology or computer related.
[/list]
Board Stuff
[list]
[*]Board Help, Suggestions, and Complaints
Get help or post any suggestions and complaints you have here.
[*]Introduction Board
If you're new to the forums, introduce yourself here.
[*]Moderators
The mods are ***s!
[/list]
Blogs
[list]
[*]Wacko University (or put it in Off Topic if you so please)
[*]Posting Games
[*]Sim Battle
[*]Darkness Advance
[*]-others-
[/list][/color]

-----

That's about all that's needed to no only sustain the popular topics, but it basically covers all grounds most gamers are into. I'm sure people might have suggestions though.



This. Works better than mine, and with the changes listed in the following posts.

I do, however, still think we should have an art/graphics board. The activity is inconsistent, but it's one of those things that you can't really post anywhere else if you don't have a board for it. Can we make it a subforum at the least? Maybe for Community Board.



Posted by S

Not savvy on Sim being a blog. It only has activity because of its current position, and it wouldn't have a snowball's chance in hell of receiving new members if it's not in the open.




Posted by maian

I didn't even know Sim Battle got new members. :cookie:




Posted by Fate

wait what

i am still a moderator here question mark




Posted by Ant

yeah you are for some reason.




Posted by Ant

ok seriously are we just gonna let this idea die like the site at current or is something actually going to get done around here? the current state of affairs on this site are a joke. Most of the time I'm cool with leaving things as they are but it's obviously apparent that if we let things flounder as they are now then this site is on it's way to ****sville at an alarming rate. come on, let's do something around here for once.




Posted by Alastor

cold day in hell before jesse takes logical action regarding this place

let's all just up and leave at the same time




Posted by Ant

serious. it's kinda like seeing who'll be the last to jump off a sinking ship at this point.




Posted by Linkman

Pretty much. Nothing will ever come of anything we propose here. So it's like, "what's the point in even trying?" It's almost as if, Jesse wants this place to die.




Posted by Fate

Wow, I like how this post mirrors what we were trying to say about a year ago. **** you and your plan, dude. Seriously.




Posted by Jesse Smith


Quoting Linkman: It's almost as if, Jesse wants this place to die.


:yawn:

12 years and da place hasn't died yet!!!! Hmmm, how many of you guys have tried making forums...only to see them give up da ghost!!!

*cough* Wire Forums *cough*
Currently Active Users: 8 (0 members and 8 guests)

Now THAT'S dead!!! :D:D:D

I learned long ago not to listen to ants for suggestions!! Ants like forums to die so they can eat them!!!! :D:D:D

Now, some one should suggest I delete Darkenss Advance!!!! THAT would be a great suggestion!!!! :D:D:D



Posted by maian

Well, this was fun!




Posted by Ant

yes.




Posted by maian

Seriously though, let's do this. We shouldn't listen to Jesse's suggestions, since they're hardly more logical than that of a retarded two year olds. And for the people suggesting that we act like this every year (VGC IS DECLINING WE NEED CHANGE LOL), it's a bit different this time.

Whereas we typically complain about member conduct becoming less and less civilized and lax, VGC is beginning to suffer from a complete lack of administration. Yes, Jesse will take action when say, the boards are "hacked" or when someone like Iris begins to delete stuff, but when it comes to actually making changes to improve the boards, nothing happens. I'm sure it's been made clear enough that this place is beginning to suck. I couldn't care less about "DA behavior" all over the boards, or a lack of discipline that other boards strictly exercise, as that's what makes VGC what it is. But, the site needs to be bloody cared for, and at this point, it's nearly ONLY vets that post.

And as far as having more off-topic forums, who cares? Because of our completely laid-back atmosphere, the only people who end up staying are the kinds of people that post here all the time anyway, usually being literate people who enjoy games but spend more time in Off Topic forums. But when we have 400 boards that are dead or dying, it makes this place look awful, and even people like us are turned off to it. If we condense the boards, it will not only boost activity, but turn on new members to the site. Gawd.




Posted by Jesse Smith

Are you guys just paranoid and having spasm attacks about da index page, aka...seeing '11-26-2008 01:43 PM' on da index page for the last post made??!!!!

Now I might be wacko enough to move forums, for example, making a Nintendo section and moving all da Nintendo forums there, including the very active game series forums, like Zelda, where the last post date won't be shown.

er, can I delete da Massively Multiplayer Online Games and Fighting Games forums??!!! Now THAT'S dead!!!

Oh, I like Off Topic forums. Where do you think I post here!!!!!




Posted by Fate

maian, it's not any different from last year, promise.




Posted by Ant


Quoting Fate: maian, it's not any different from last year, promise.


that doesn't change the fact that something should be done. I've been pretty quiet about this crap for waaaaaaaaaaaaaaaay too long. Not quite sure what got up my *** to bring it up this time but I'm pretty sure everyone else who gives two ****s about this site would agree with me.



Posted by Ant

even the judge approves of these changes. I think that pretty much settles it.




Posted by Linko_16

Boy I sure would hate it if Jesse exacted the changes the mods have suggested in this thread. That would be an absolute detriment to the forums and would result in complete drama mayhem for at least, like, six months.




Posted by Jesse Smith


Quoting Linko_16: Boy I sure would hate it if Jesse exacted the changes the mods have suggested in this thread. That would be an absolute detriment to the forums and would result in complete drama mayhem for at least, like, six months.


*Smells reverse cykology!!!* :D:D:D:D:D:D:D



Posted by Linkman

FFFFFFFFFF

nt Linko.


Anyway, making a mess of sub-forums wont solve anything. The idea is to make it look bigger, like there's more activity then there actually is. Which is what I don't understand because that kind of conniving deception is right up your alley. The condition it's in now makes it no different than places such as Wire Forums, UGF (few may remember that), and so on. Their biggest mistakes were having way too many forums. And just like those sites, this one will be dead within months because of it.




Posted by Fate

hey linkman remember when you said that last year

Look at the amount of mods that posted in here (and which ones, too). I'm modding like I was asked to a year ago: leave the forums alone, let inside jokes roam (ahemAHEMwackohaterpoconetmanjuniorsenior), and let **** happen. If change really does happen around here I will heavily participate, but I don't see that happening any time soon. Why? The problem starts at the mod base. We need to give some incentive to frequent posters.

I'd rather say "**** you" than "I told you so" at this point. We have to start from scratch here.




Posted by Linko_16

I was asked about the fate of some of the beloved threads in otherwise inactive boards faced with deletion. Do the threads (all or some) get merged into the most relevant surviving board, or would they just get deleted?




Posted by Linkman

They'd get merged. Probably nothing would actually be deleted.




Posted by Ant


Quoting Jesse Smith: Now I might be wacko enough to move forums, for example, making a Nintendo section and moving all da Nintendo forums there, including the very active game series forums, like Zelda, where the last post date won't be shown.


I'm willing to settle with this. I would prefer what was proposed but at this point I think we should take what Jesse is actually willing to do.



Posted by Jesse Smith

Oh no!! Some one actually read my post!!! You wern't supposed to do that!!!

Remember, I'm also da King of da Lazies!!!! :D




Posted by Vampiro V. Empire

I agree with the mighty merg.

also, if linkman was talking about gff that place is ****ing terrible




Posted by Linko_16

At the very least Jesse will probably get it done when he's overhauling the boards for vb4 anyway.




Posted by Jesse Smith


Quoting Vampiro V. Empire: I agree with the mighty merg.


Who...are...you??!!! :D:D I say we de-mod Vamp...since he left long ago!!! :D:D:D:D



Posted by Linkman


Quoting Vampiro V. Empire: also, if linkman was talking about gff that place is ****ing terrible


Naw, but that's one I forgot. I meant "UGF" which was a forum Hyper and KoH created back in 2003-ish. Just to give you an idea, Sean Fury was a Super Mod.



Posted by Vampiro V. Empire

that thing is still around? whoa




Posted by Jesse Smith

er, more like it died back in 2004!!! :D




Posted by Vampiro V. Empire


Quoted post: Believe me, there's another video game oriented website a few active members here have considered migrating to. Ant probably knows which one I speak of.


this made me think it was still around.



Posted by Linkman

Not the same thing. I'm talking about another website. One I'm talking about there is called Backloggery. UGF did die back in 2004.




Posted by Vampiro V. Empire

where did ugf come from




Posted by Jesse Smith


Quoting Linkman: One I'm talking about there is called Backloggery.


er, first they need a forum. i don't see one!!! :D

http://www.backloggery.com/



Posted by Vampiro V. Empire


Quoting backloggery dude: it's a major reason why I have no plans to add a forum to the Backloggery at this time. I want the focus of the site to always be about playing games.


yeah, I'm confused now



Posted by Linkman

Alright, let me explain this.

Underground Gaming Federation (UGF) was a website that KoH paid for and Hyper ran back in 2003. It was a simple forum with WAY too many vBulletin hacks that basically survived off VGC's unwanted members, which at the time consisted of Sean Fury, Iris (Amy Rose), Sable Wind, and a few others. Other respected VGCers went there too, such as Linko (who made people little custom Metool sprites for forum money). But for a lot of people here, it was just fun to **** them all off because most of them were uptight. Eventually it slowed down to nothing and Hyper just let it die in early 2004.

Backloggery is just a game collection/progress tracking website. Not really anything beyond that right now. It does have a gated community, but nothing special (just people that love commenting a lot and watching the admins play games over a justin.tv stream). Now that I really think about it, not sure what I was going for there (probably just **** off Jesse). One thing is for sure though, people there are quite a bit more friendly and welcoming to new people than they are here.

[Quote=Jesse Smith]Oh no!! Some one actually read my post!!! You wern't supposed to do that!!!

Remember, I'm also da King of da Lazies!!!!

And Jesse, this is why you need another admin. So someone is actually running things.




Posted by Vampiro V. Empire

Well that explained absolutely nothing in the context of the original quote and my confusion.

well played.




Posted by Jesse Smith


Quoting Linkman: Underground Gaming Federation was a simple forum that basically survived off VGC's unwanted members. Eventually it slowed down to nothing and Hyper just let it die in early 2004.


Thanks for proving my point!! Every time you guys make foums, they die, while VGChat never dies!!! :D:D:D:D


Quoting Linkman: And Jesse, this is why you need another admin. So someone is actually running things.


Let's say I had done that two months ago and let Iris be a co-admin. duh...bye bye forums!!! duh, I wounder why there's only one admin!!!

And you all know you all just want the database so you can go make your own forums...only to see them die six months later!!!! :D:D:D:D



Posted by S

Well, your actions certainly remedied things Jesse! Now, Junior Senior's blog has more activity than anywhere else. Glory to the poop threads!




Posted by Jesse Smith

Next time junior senior asks for a blog, think twice before u vote yes!!!!!! er, he should get another blog!!!! :D:D:D:D




Posted by S

I sure as hell didn't vote yes.




Posted by Jesse Smith

Oh, I did get rid of da Buy, Sell, and Trade board!!! So there is one less dead board!!!! :D




Posted by Ant

huh? I don't notice anything different?




Posted by Jesse Smith

That's cause you're a n00bie!!!!! :D You're so paranoid about da index page...yet you don't even look at it!!!!!!! :D:D:D:D




Posted by Ant

oh right, that's cause I've had it hidden the whole time.

now do the rest.




Posted by Vampiro V. Empire

what was changed other than the message board stuff?




Posted by Ant

NOTHING




Posted by Vampiro V. Empire

oh, of course




Posted by Jesse Smith


Quoting Ant: that's cause I've had it hidden the whole time.


Duh...then why did you start being a cry baby in da first place when you don't even look at it!!! Like I said before...never listen to an ant!!!!! *Makes mental note to pretend this thread was never made.*



Posted by Vampiro V. Empire

GOOD JOB, ANT. JEEZ




Posted by Ant

not to beat a dead horse here but why aren't we doing this again? there would be just as many posts on the boards as a whole, everything would be condensed and organized, and on a whole it'd be cleaner looking and friendlier to noobs.

So how bout this, why don't you just start off with the Nintendo boards. Condense all the systems into one section of just called "Nintendo" and the mods of each all into the same area. If it turns out nice we can continue as planned with the rest, if not, then no harm right?




Posted by Vampiro V. Empire

DRR BUT IT'S NOT WACKO THAT'S WHY FRRHUUURLOL

logically your idea makes sense, but yeah...




Posted by Ant


Quoting Ant: not to beat a dead horse here but why aren't we doing this again? there would be just as many posts on the boards as a whole, everything would be condensed and organized, and on a whole it'd be cleaner looking and friendlier to noobs.

So how bout this, why don't you just start off with the Nintendo boards. Condense all the systems into one section of just called "Nintendo" and the mods of each all into the same area. If it turns out nice we can continue as planned with the rest, if not, then no harm right?


9 months later, and here I am at 3:50am thinking about it again. funny.

yeah?



Posted by Stalolin

it would probably help, actually

less clutter looks far more appealing, especiall when you've got a green and black theme

additionally with less forums it makes it easier to navigate and we won't get as many users who sign up just to post once in the megaman forum about how good they are at star force




Posted by Stalolin

didn't we vote on this too

**** jesse




Posted by Linkman

VGC, my old friend. I haven't posted here in months and suddenly I'm drawn here and to this thread.

Is there even a reason to continue paying the bills to keep this place running? Never mind, this is of course Jesse we speak of. It's kind of a shame, even Sabredog thinks VGC wouldn't wouldn't have turned out this bad if Jesse actually did the stuff we requested over the years.




Posted by Jesse Smith


Quoting Linkman: I haven't posted here in months.


That reminds me, I got some de-moding to do...when I'm not lazy!!!! :D:D:D:D



Posted by Linkman

Excellent, I'm safe for...ever.