So What's Next?

[Super Mario]

My questions regarding the site's need for new members: Where can we get new blood? And how do we keep them solid and interested by visiting regularly? I'm asking this because the ones who left with bitter feelings towards this community also more or less spoke ill of this forum (trust me, some people do eventually return to the net and visit other communities), assuming they went to another similar ff community and warned the other members as well. I just wish we knew HOW to keep the new blood around instead of scaring them, pissing them off from the community altogether. Everyone has something they can bring to the table and all.

 

[Cat Rage Room]

I vote to condense all of the Compilation subforums into just one, big 'Compilation of Final Fantasy VII' forum. Nuke all the subforums entirely and move all the topics in them into one big one. None of the Compilation games are generating enough activity to warrant 5 different forums.

I also vote that if we are moving towards coverage of the older games, we give them an appropriate forum. I also suggest emphasizing discussion and members who appreciate the gameplay of these games as well; after all, that's what we do when we enjoy these games; we play them.

 

[Cat Rage Room]

BTW: Good post Mumble, I'll try to give my thoughts on that, give me a few.

 

[Ⓐaron]

I'm not sure condensing all the forums is a good idea, but we can at least make them into subfora to keep them from cluttering up the main page. (If subfora aren't visible on the main page, make them visible; it's been awhile since I looked at it).

Along a similar vein, EoFF has fora for every numbered series entry to encourage discussion on each of them. That's a bit extreme, but it shows a commitment to the series that no other site I'm aware of demonstrates, and it manages to keep the discussion for each game that I bother paying attention to pretty fresh (which basically means IV-VI and IX). We could try setting up subfora for each FF game as well. Or definitely at least each era.

 

[Cat Rage Room]

I'm not sure condensing all the forums is a good idea, but we can at least make them into subfora to keep them from cluttering up the main page. (If subfora aren't visible on the main page, make them visible; it's been awhile since I looked at it).

Bleh, subfora are so cluttery, though. It's best to have as little forums as possible for concise discussion. Why not condense all the FFVII forums? Is anyone really going to miss the DoC forums or the BC forum if we condense them into one? All anyone really talks about nowadays is either the original game or the Compilation as a whole.

Along a similar vein, EoFF has fora for every numbered series entry to encourage discussion on each of them. That's a bit extreme, but it shows a commitment to the series that no other site I'm aware of demonstrates, and it manages to keep the discussion for each game that I bother paying attention to pretty fresh (which basically means IV-VI and IX). We could try setting up subfora for each FF game as well. Or definitely at least each era.

Putting them for each era is a good idea, but I really like the idea of focusing on the older ones, at least for now to give us a foundation. Going from covering one entry in the series to all of them is going to be very daunting and will dilute our efforts immensely. I think we should start with the old school ones and see where that takes us.

 

[Ⓐaron]

Yeah I agree with starting with the old-school ones; as said above, I'd recommend starting with FFVI, in part because it seems to be alongside FFVII the most loved entry in the series. As for why to have subfora, in part it's because it makes it easier to find a specific discussion. Plus it makes us look more comprehensive. I have to run to work in a moment so I'll elaborate more on why I think keeping the subfora would be a good idea later.

 

[Dashell]

I don't mean to be a downer here but it seems like we go through this every few weeks and nothing ever changes. At the very least we should stick to what we're trying to do this time and not just let it fizzle out.

 

[Cat Rage Room]

I don't mean to be a downer here but it seems like we go through this every few weeks and nothing ever changes.

I don't mean to be a downer here but it seems like we go through this every few weeks and nothing ever changes.

I don't mean to be a downer here but it seems like we go through this every few weeks and nothing ever changes.

I don't mean to be a downer here but it seems like we go through this every few weeks and nothing ever changes.

somebody give this girl a medal and don't you ever forget she said this

 

[Dashell]

....



SHUT UP! You don't make me feel good by saying good things about me

 

[Super Mario]

Well let's start now before shit gets too late. What shall we work on first? Staff? or bringing in new members?

 

[Cat Rage Room]

Work from the top down; Staff first, I think. Before that, though, we should focus on changing the infrastructure to support whatever site change is gonna happen.

Also we should probably wait for the other staff to chip in as well before we start being definitive about anything; more discussion is always welcome though!

 

[Dashell]

I realize you guys are focusing on early FFs but would hacking stuff from the newer ones be out? A while back Rob started a disassembly thingy on FFX:

http://www.finalfantasyforums.net/f...ocumented-ffx-hackings-disassembly-19839.html

well the images don't work anymore but you get the idea. Would something like this be welcomed?

 

[Cat Rage Room]

Anything is welcome, really. A focus does not exclude yummy other FF stuff! So yeah, that'll be cool.

Hey guys; I gotta step out for a few hours, so keep this discussion going! Stay good, everyone!

 

[Dashell]

oh wait I do still have some pics:

Tidus Tidus Tidus Tidus...

A random Lulu appears

and this speaks for itself

but yeah you already said okay, I just wanted to post the images.

 

[Cthulhu]

We were talking in the Staff forum about

For the record, my first post in there was asking why that thread was in the staff forums in the first place, .

I'd be interested in learning how to hack.

I wouldn't, actually, . I hate working with black boxes, prodding stuff until it works, trying to peer into the convoluted mind of a Japanese programmer. I'd be more into making separate, new software .

Strange thing is, I see active FF7 fans in places like LJ and such. Perhaps people just cba to join an FF exclusive forum? idk, it's not like there's a lack of love for the game going around.

Or maybe we're just not profiling ourselves enough on sites like Facebook, JL, Shitter, etc. Something like this might work - as a start.

I vote to condense all of the Compilation subforums into just one, big 'Compilation of Final Fantasy VII' forum. Nuke all the subforums entirely and move all the topics in them into one big one. None of the Compilation games are generating enough activity to warrant 5 different forums.

I vote against, actually, as some of the entries (AC, CC at the very least) have (had) enough potential, and second that, like it or not, we still have the compilation as our main goal - at least in terms of general style and atmosphere and things.

Expanding other forums could work, however with that too I'd suggest not overdoing it at first - make sections for the games we got content for, or do eras before doing sections if the activity doesn't warrant it.

I don't mean to be a downer here but it seems like we go through this every few weeks and nothing ever changes. At the very least we should stick to what we're trying to do this time and not just let it fizzle out.

You are SO wrong.

It's once every few months, actually .

I realize you guys are focusing on early FFs but would hacking stuff from the newer ones be out? A while back Rob started a disassembly thingy on FFX:

http://www.finalfantasyforums.net/f...ocumented-ffx-hackings-disassembly-19839.html

well the images don't work anymore but you get the idea. Would something like this be welcomed?

Well, is it actually interesting? I mean, I don't know about you or you lot, but apparent bugs like this... don't really give me a boner. Let alone if it's a one-off thing slapped onto the site randomly, a random appearance of Lulu and buggered names in the character list being one of the few articles that appear on the site (and which stays on the frontpage for months, at the current rate of new posts), in which case the site suddenly switches from a Compilation (and, to a lesser / equal part Dissidia) site to also cover FFX bugs / hacks.

It'd constitute as interesting (in my book) if this Rob fellow could haxor into the game and find secret 'deleted scenes' that possibly would influence the story in an odd fashion, for example. Nothing personal, .

A FFVI retranslation (and subsequent re-releasing) would be an interesthing thing to do, however. Monthly updates on critical differences between original translation and re-translation would be a welcome addition to the frontpage's content.

 

[Alex]

A few ideas:

How about the Let's Play idea that was floated around for awhile and never went anywhere? We have enough people with microphones and skype, we could probably get started on one or two of these for like whatever Final Fantasy thats conveniant. Maybe do two at a time, one for people who are like the game and another for those who are critical of it. That way some debate, contrast and discussion could emerge on both sides of the table.

Secondly, what about some articles for the mainpage based on the kind of thing that Cracked do (or a more series specific example, like what they do on The Snake Soup). You know, funny or serious articles listing like Top 5 or Top 10 lists of things to do with the Final Fantasy series. 'Top 5 endings in the series', 'Top 10 most random, wtf moments' 'top 15 boss battles'. Little things like that which could inject some humour into the front page, alongside some discussion which could move some commenters to posting on the forum.

 

[ForceStealer]

How about the Let's Play idea that was floated around for awhile and never went anywhere? We have enough people with microphones and skype, we could probably get started on one or two of these for like whatever Final Fantasy thats conveniant. Maybe do two at a time, one for people who are like the game and another for those who are critical of it. That way some debate, contrast and discussion could emerge on both sides of the table.

This. AND can we ever resurrect that LO/ACC/whatever commentary project? I was really excited about that.

 

[LicoriceAllsorts]

Obviously my main interest is the fanfiction so what few ideas I have come from that side of the field. This site is a fantastic resource for fan-fiction writers - it's how I found it and grew to love it in the first place. Nobody ever made me feel stupid for asking noob questions (except mako, a bit, but that's his job) and if no one knew the answer, there would always be a knowledgeable discussion that would bring some possible answers to the surface.

I am always surprised when I find that my fellow fanfictioneers don't know about this site. They need to, and I regularly refer them here. FFVII is one of of the biggest fandoms in gaming fanfic, if not THE biggest. We ought to link ourselves more prominently within the main fanfiction sites - fanfiction.net, LJ, Dreamwidth and A03 come to mind. That would get more people coming to visit this site, and some will stay.

That's all I've got.

 

[Alex]

Definitely!

These are the kind of big idea projects that you find no other Final Fantasy site is really attempting and would really make us standout.

 

[Joker]

OKAY SO

Here's what I think.

I think keeping the actual forum bound mostly within the realm of FF isn't a great idea. It's like Mog said - Xenogears and Chrono Trigger haven't had a damn thing happen in ages, and yet their communities are still very active and there's lots of stuff to talk about in them. As such, why not actually open TLS into a general gaming forum - to start with?

You could easily expand for things like CT, Xeno, Zelda, Metroid, whatever. It wouldn't be difficult, especially since there's quite enough active members to work on multiple fronts simultaneously. And that way, it doesn't pin the "FF forum" label on us, with its negative stigmata, and TLS can ALSO move away from being another place that is infamous for the LTD bit. Which, tbh, I honestly think should just be let go. LET IT FUCKING DIE, PEOPLE. NONE OF YOU ARE SAYING ANYTHING NEW OR INTERESTING. IT'S BEEN SAID BEFORE. THE HORSE HAS BEEN BEATEN FAR BEYOND DEATH TO THE POINT THAT NONE OF ITS MOLECULES ARE STILL WITHIN THIS PLANE OF EXISTENCE.

/rant


Additionally, I really think expanding beyond just being a gaming forum is also a great idea. The Movie Night was a good idea, and was going well, until the third week when people stopped voting/watching movies. (I myself didn't have internet, so I fucked up there, esp. since I was the one to suggest it >: ) But more things, like having art or writing contests, "giveaways" (where registered members who meet certain criteria are capable of winning some prize or other, most likely something vsmall and cheap, unless it's a HUGE contest that is guaranteed to draw a lot of activity), whatever...there's loads of ways of getting more traffic coming into this place.

As to keeping the members...that's on us, tbh. Once we lure them in, all we have to do is not chase them off. Which basically means not letting Dacon post in their intro threads.

But I really think there's a lot of things that could be done to bring some fresh air into the forum. I had a lot of other stuff I was going to type, but then got sidetracked and forgot it all.

 

[ForceStealer]

That approach, while good on paper, isn't nearly as good in practice. Turning into basically "talk about whatever you want!" forum gives people literally no reason to come here at all apart from the friendliness of our community (meaning that no one will come )

Spread yourself that thin and you'll have the classic jack-of-all-trades curse: master of none.

The movie week is a great pastime for the members we have, but it wouldn't really draw anyone else. Having great coverage of "Stuff" (whatever 'stuff' we finally decide on, FF7, FF, video games) is what will draw people.

I'm hesitant to expand the view much further than Final Fantasy.

 

[Joker]

No, I'm saying that if we expand the view beyond just FF, then it's going to draw people in, especially if it's of the same quantity and quality as with the Compilation stuff.

Example: I'm sure if a concerted effort to cover CT was made, a shit-ton of people would make their way over, especially if there's maybe one or two things they've not seen before (although this is unlikely, all things considered, I know). But more content is going to translate into more content. Not saying 'ohey, open the floodgates rite now', just that slowly opening them up to more things is going to generate traffic.

Random example: Suppose an effort was made to appeal to fans of Lost. Alex can comment on this

And even so, it's fine to talk about "master of none" and spreading one's self thin - but what we're doing now isn't working, and we all know it.

The Movie Night is there to keep the people that the other content draws in, btw. Why stay here when there's a lot of other places to go? Simple - make it more homey and get them involved in the actual community aspect, so that they bother to care to hang around.



O YEAH EDIT: I just remembered part of what I wanted to say - I've been dying to do a Let's Play type thing for FFX. Back when I first got the International version, with its new stuff and Dark Aeons, etc, I wanted to do a sort of video series entailing the preparation for and fights with the Dark Aeons (this was like six years ago, so I was still a moody and pretentious teenager and the name "Diary of Atonement" sounded like a great name for it back then ). Anyway, I want to get a new PS2 that can play it soon, because I'm fucking DYING to replay the game, and would love to do a Let's Play thing for it, and would gladly do so as part of new site content.

Assuming someone would show me how to record it, that is.

 

[Cat Rage Room]

Can't say I really like that idea either, Omega. Going into a general gaming site; there are a MILLION of those. I think it's spreading ourselves way too thin (we'd have to get Staff ready and willing, and actively working all the time to cover all of gaming all the time), and I'm telling you right now I have no personal interest in covering all of gaming, I don't even have the energy for it.

If nothing else, I think we should at least start smaller, and if the horizon proves otherwise, sure. But going from FFVII to GENERAL GAMING, I don't have the stones for it, honestly. I'll be straight up; just not interested.

but what we're doing now isn't working, and we all know it.

BTW, what we're doing now isn't working is because of our approach, not the idea. Places like Chrono Compendium do the exact same thing we do, but they're more successful because their focus is there to the 10th degree.

 

[Joker]

I'll remember to just keep my opinions to myself next time.

 

[Cat Rage Room]

I'll remember to just keep my opinions to myself next time.

Nobody is going to agree with everyone all of the time. That doesn't mean that opinions aren't worth sharing. I respect you, I respect your idea, but I don't agree with it. That's not a strike against you, your ideas, your intelligence or anything, or you as a person. I'm just being honest and straightforward.

Gee, aren't we all adults here, dude?