A Central Forum?

Discussion of other water gun websites.
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DX
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A Central Forum?

Post by DX » Tue Jul 18, 2006 3:14 am

Same old idea, only I'm on the opposite side of the fence this time. I'm willing to go for it, if such a forum could be made and if there is full support from the membership. A well administered, well set-up, well planned, well organized, well supported, WWN-esque forum could really raise Soakerdom's activity and open a new chapter in water warfare.

The major hurdles would simply be getting such a forum going and having people actually post there. It has been many years since a single forum has held most of Soakerdom's activity, and I don't think anyone is used to that feeling anymore.

Oh, and if this idea actually goes forward, the existing forums would continue to operate, whether scaled-down or as normal, depending on individual webmaster choices.

I'm not sure whether to be optimistic or pessimistic because I have no clue if the will and support exists to get such a bold project rolling.
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ZOCCOZ
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Post by ZOCCOZ » Tue Jul 18, 2006 5:56 am

Would it be successfull? I don't know.
Now having said that, I would say go for it. You ain't getting an argument from the guy who did the R-Forum just to try how it would work.

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joannaardway
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Post by joannaardway » Tue Jul 18, 2006 9:13 am

That sounds a like a task... The hope would be that we can feed enough people into it at the start to actually give it a life-inducing boost.

I would say try it... don't know what the result will be.
"Over the hills and far away, she prays he will return one day. As sure as the rivers reach the seas, back in his arms again she'll be." - Over the Hills and far away, Gary Moore

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Spinner
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Post by Spinner » Tue Jul 18, 2006 10:01 am

Without wanting to sound overly pessimistic, I would have to say it probably wouldn't be worthwhile trying as an idea. Have we already forgotten the lessons of Aquatica and Water-Talk?

Although a centralised forum would have certain advantages, I feel they will not outweigh the difficulties encountered in setting it up - large separate forums with good relationships are the way I believe Soakerdom should stay.

That having been said, I would be willing to give a new forum a go, to be fair. :cool:
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isoaker_com
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Post by isoaker_com » Tue Jul 18, 2006 1:35 pm

@Spinner: that's overly pessimistic. Aquatica failed from poor leadership (due to inexperience) and way too many server issues. Water-Talk failed for lacking the right vibe, IMO.

There is something nice about having a forum that doesn't have strict ties to any particular site and represents all of Soakerdom, in a sense. However, it's definitely not an easy thing to accomplish and would require the right build, the right administration, and a good, stable server and design to get things going (no free forum set-up or one with heavy ads, etc).

I should also definitely state that its creation is by no means a reason for any presently existing forum to close, etc. I await to see things before I'd offer my site's support. I guess what I like, though, about the 'open' forum is that it offers another, different choice on where Soakerdom members can interact.


I should also add that promotion of an 'open' forum should be limited on existing forums to perhaps just an announcement thread at most. 'tis no good to leech from existing forums (though this may occur to some extent unavoidably).

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SSCBen
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Post by SSCBen » Tue Jul 18, 2006 1:38 pm

The only way this board will be successful, in my opinion that is, is if everyone puts all they have on the table for the start. I'm talking about merging the iSoaker.com forums, the SSC forums, and the SoakerMedia forums, among whatever else we feel like.

I wouldn't go as far to say that a centralized forum would increase the water gun community's activity. The activity would just be limited to once place, making one place more active. Two or three forums on the otherhand can easily equal the same amount of activity. For someone like me who is a member of all three forums, it really won't make much of a difference aside from the fact that everyone else would be there too.

I will say this though: if we merge SSC, iSoaker.com, SoakerMedia, and thrown in the Water-Talk backup I have, we'd have over 60K posts. Great selling point for joining this forum. They'd probably really think we've got a good thing going. So yes, this might increase total niche-wide forum activity!

The success of any forum like this lies completely with how many people support it. If everyone puts all they have into it, I don't doubt for a second that it'll work initially. But I don't think anyone would do that, for they'd have to replace every link on iSoaker.com and SSC that says "Forums" and ideally merge their forums. So, the goal is very unrealistic in my opinion.

The SSC forums themselves have had a lot of work put into them. I also really like the relationship between here and other websites and don't want to ruin it. I also don't want another Aquatica like situation to occur. So, for those reasons I don't want to jump on the best possible scenario by closing these forums and hoping others will merge. Just with SSC, a new forum would only be SSC too.

So, I essentially agree with everything Spinner has said. There will be advantages, but the disadvantages really do outweight them.

One reason Water-Talk didn't work out in my opinion was that it was rushed through development. There was a lot more than could be done for it's success in my opinion. So, whoever starts this, if they'd like some help, by all means will I be available. I still own supersoaker.be, so if anyone wants it, they're free to have it for free. supersoaker.be would work great for this project. :)

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Spinner
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Tag mess

Post by Spinner » Tue Jul 18, 2006 4:18 pm

isoaker_com wrote:@Spinner: that's overly pessimistic.

And looking back on my post, rather over-simplistic on my part as well. :cool:
Ben wrote:The SSC forums themselves have had a lot of work put into them. I also really like the relationship between here and other websites and don't want to ruin it. I also don't want another Aquatica like situation to occur.
Aye; if it ain't broke, don't fix it. Individualised forums are preferable to conglomerates, in my opinion.
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joannaardway
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Post by joannaardway » Tue Jul 18, 2006 6:36 pm

I like the idea - because it would result in more activity.

Example: I don't read the isoaker forums that often, I won't respond to something that happens there.

But, if it were on the same forum, then I'd respond, everyone else would read it and the information would reach more people and get more response and consideration.

I don't know how possible it would be, but it might be the next great boost for soakerdom.
"Over the hills and far away, she prays he will return one day. As sure as the rivers reach the seas, back in his arms again she'll be." - Over the Hills and far away, Gary Moore

"So many people have come and gone, their faces fade as the years go by. Yet I still recall as I wander on, as clear as the sun in the summer sky" - More than a feeling, Boston

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isoaker_com
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Post by isoaker_com » Tue Jul 18, 2006 7:32 pm

When it comes to the actual process of building an 'open'-community, I would not want to see SSCentral or SoakerMedia close up shop. All forums have a nice, unique vibe that attracts particular members to them which would be lost if there were only one, big forum.

If I like the set-up of a new 'open'-community, I'd definitely scale back the iSoaker.com Forums, but wouldn't close there, either. There is a security in having multiple forums open, particularly in the event of server problems that we unfortunately run into from time to time.


In my mind, forums with sites they support make sense to be designed to fully support the site they are a part of. An 'open'-community forum, not being tied to a particular site, would support the interlinking between the sites and smaller communities, basically serving as a support towards all of online Soakerdom.

As an aside, I also grow weary about all the negative talk about Aquatica. Aquatica's ending was rather fugly, but Aquatica, for the most part, did its job at positively developing Soakerdom during most of its time. Aquatica still represents a significant thing that helped shape Soakerdom. Even its ugly ending serves as a lesson on things to definitely avoid in the future. There's been too much dwelling on the bad that all the good things it did back in the day are being forgotten.

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NiborDude
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Post by NiborDude » Tue Jul 18, 2006 8:59 pm

What if there was a forum directory? Like an online site that is kind of like a web ring and has links to all the forums.
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isoaker_com
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Post by isoaker_com » Tue Jul 18, 2006 9:08 pm

NiborDude wrote:What if there was a forum directory? Like an online site that is kind of like a web ring and has links to all the forums.
Webrings are so 1990's Internet. :p As for just a forum directory, that can be accomplished by setting up a thread of links on each forum. Actually, a directory thread on each forum wouldn't be a bad idea. However, there'd be no need for an entire site dedicated to simply be a listing of soaker forum links.

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DX
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Post by DX » Wed Jul 19, 2006 2:27 am

Ok, so this issue is still a tinderbox that was waiting to be ignited. Basically, from what I've seen publically and privately, opinion is split, exactly what I didn't want to see. That makes it even harder to figure out whether it is worth it or not.

All the current forums would likely stay open, either scaled back or completely unchanged. There would be no pressure to close an existing successful community. I don't want another Aquatica-style collapse either, but only with enough faith in the project would a central board avoid the usual fate. Not only would it have to include everyone, but everyone would have to include it.
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isoaker_com
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Post by isoaker_com » Wed Jul 19, 2006 2:50 am

Differences of opinions are rather expected. Heck, I'd be sad if everyone agreed on it since, if everyone did, why the heck wouldn't it have been done sooner? :p Besides, differences of opinion add flavour to discussions and bring up potential problems before they actually occur.
Not only would it have to include everyone, but everyone would have to include it.
This statement worries me as, IMO, it possesses one of the fundamental thought flaws when Aquatica was being run. An 'open' community forum does NOT need to have everyone's support nor include everyone. It is much too hard to please everyone and many, including myself, may wait a bit to see what it looks like before offering support. Trying to fit 'everyone' can lead to a lot of unexpected problems due to membership conflicts. Try to accept most, but trying for 'everyone' is asking too much. :p

As well, for an 'open' forum to become widely-accepted, it should do its best to cover as much of online Soakerdom as possible, but it should not need to rely on having 100% or even 50% site participation in the beginning. Both webmasters and current forum members need to judge the new forum before they can say whether they approve of the set-up.

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joannaardway
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Post by joannaardway » Wed Jul 19, 2006 8:00 am

Perhaps we should be content with a thread on each forum that links to good topics on each of the others. At the moment, inter-forum links are rare, partly because often the topics involved don't necessarily intertwine.

Many of us are members of all three, but many of us stick to using one in the majority (*raises hand*).

I would read the others, but I have't got time to get through every forum for all my different hobbies - I need to draw the line somewhere.

If someone would link me to good topics on the others then I'd go and read them.

I don't have the time to pick through the "n00b topics" as well.
"Over the hills and far away, she prays he will return one day. As sure as the rivers reach the seas, back in his arms again she'll be." - Over the Hills and far away, Gary Moore

"So many people have come and gone, their faces fade as the years go by. Yet I still recall as I wander on, as clear as the sun in the summer sky" - More than a feeling, Boston

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SSCBen
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Post by SSCBen » Thu Jul 20, 2006 2:52 pm

In honesty, I think most everything you're interested in would be limited to here at SSC. It seems a lot of people assume here is for DIY type people and iSoaker.com is for non-DIY type people (Wild Boys in particular is one person who holds that belief). Then again, switching forums like that isn't helping change the focus of either board which is only chosen by the membership.

There are a lot of good threads at both forums though, so that might be a good idea. :)

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