Particle's Custom RPG

General => Common Topic Symposium => Topic started by: Particle on January 12, 2007 12:07 am CST

Title: Forum Revitalization
Post by: Particle on January 12, 2007 12:07 am CST: Once again I bring the subject of forum revitalizing. It seems the post count has trickled to a level paralleled only by the initial couple days this forum ever existed. A couple years ago, we had over a page of active threads always going and nothing has really changed on this end. We've still got as many players as we've ever had, but the forum's post activity has declined substantially. Any idea what might be wrong?

I know that some of you are instantly thinking "what a perfect time to pin it on his moderation nazi-ism", but please remember that I'm more lax now than I ever have been before.

We've also got as many active players on the server as ever.

Ideas and theories are welcome.

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Is it the transitioning generation's addiction to more community driven sites like Myspace over more traditional forums perhaps? I really can't explain it at the moment, but that seems as likely as anything.
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Post by: sin on January 12, 2007 12:44 am CST: I've noticed a decline on my forums as well. I think it's just that time of year.
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Post by: Kyrie on January 12, 2007 01:19 am CST: Second semester of school is beginning for a lot of folks (myself included, graduating in just 4 months or so).

Generally, I'm not a big poster, more of a browser, but I can easily start posting links to articles that I find interesting each day. I usually encounter several a day and I'm sure some would find some of them interesting.

If you're interested in bringing in new posters, why not try starting up a new (or bringing interest back into an old) project? Then browse around the remaining Tribes forums for people who may be interested in such a project.
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Post by: villman420 on January 12, 2007 01:46 am CST: most of the people who play on the server dont know about the forums

make a message in game that tells people to sign up in the forums
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Post by: KoRo on January 12, 2007 04:35 am CST: I still come on here even though I don't play. But I honestly don't find a lot on the forum I can relate to or talk about....usually the conversations are about drugs or alcohol, sometimes politics, but otherwise just stuff I can't relate to. That and the fact that i get flamed after just about every post I make...
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Post by: IceCube on January 12, 2007 04:38 am CST: offer free remorts for posting in the forum??!?!?!
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Post by: IceCube on January 12, 2007 04:39 am CST: Quote from: "KoRo"
I still come on here even though I don't play. But I honestly don't find a lot on the forum I can relate to or talk about....usually the conversations are about drugs or alcohol, sometimes politics, but otherwise just stuff I can't relate to. That and the fact that i get flamed after just about every post I make...

well i guess you shouldnt be a communist should you?
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Post by: KoRo on January 12, 2007 05:14 am CST: i can totally predict the future
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Post by: Particle on January 12, 2007 11:33 am CST: I don't understand how most people wouldn't know about the forum. Ghettobot spams the URL constantly and the website's domain shows the entire time during loading. The first time anyone plays, the news also displays which contains a line talking about the forum as well.

Perhaps a more annoying route is in order. Back in the day though, people still managed to find it regardless.

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Unrelated: I had an anti-spam system half finished before my computer bricked. I can't put it in place until my machine is back online in a couple weeks.
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Post by: Bovidi on January 12, 2007 12:01 pm CST: Well I am not completely sure if you got rid of this or not but I remember back when I played in your server constantly, when I tried to join it wouldn't accept a hotmail account, I think the message was to prevent spam or something. So I never joined, back when I played all that time.

So maybe since everything seems like it is in the age of using a gmail, or hotmail account people just can't be bothered to join the forum and post.
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Post by: sin on January 12, 2007 03:24 pm CST: Quote from: "villman420"
most of the people who play on the server dont know about the forums

make a message in game that tells people to sign up in the forums

The Objectives screen is a great place to put the url's to your website, forums and any other helpful sites.
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Post by: Particle on January 12, 2007 05:30 pm CST: I thought I did that an eon ago. I guess not.
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Post by: Kyrie on January 12, 2007 05:51 pm CST: Yeah, the objectives screen still links to Trancephyte

I believe there are some functions in Tribes that allow you to open a specified webpage. Maybe you can include something like that in the tab menu, or something.
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Post by: sin on January 12, 2007 07:30 pm CST: Isn't it deuspack that has clickable links? It would be good to update that as well and add the links into that. If i remember correctly, some of the links are dead in there anyway.
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Post by: Particle on January 12, 2007 08:06 pm CST: That sounds like a really cool idea.
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Post by: Kyrie on January 12, 2007 09:54 pm CST: Deus pack has links, but I'm not sure if it relies on its own scripting to open the webpage or Tribes' functions. If you hardcoded with the functions in Tribes, you could make a command like #forum that would open the forum right up. That'd be pretty sweet.
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Post by: Bovidi on January 12, 2007 11:42 pm CST: The tribes function that opens the url is HTMLOpen();

Maybe if you release a gui for the main menu that changes the link of the website button to your website. It isn't that hard to change the link I managed to do that in my RPG_Menu gui.

Quote from: "Kyrie"
If you hardcoded with the functions in Tribes, you could make a command like #forum that would open the forum right up. That'd be pretty sweet.

Couldn't that be exploited by a server to send someone to a website unvoluntarily? I know most major servers wouldn't do it(ie Parts and Sin's) but other servers could have the potential of doing it.
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Post by: Kyrie on January 13, 2007 12:05 am CST: Yes, I learned about it from someone whose computer was hacked when they were sent to a faked Microsoft Update page.

But if you provide it as an ingame option, then the person using the command (#forum) wouldn't be doing so involuntarily. It'd provide a quick and easy way for players both new and old to access the forums.

There was also HTMLOpenAndGoWin();

It's not really any different than, say, Everquest (I believe that was the game) where typing /pizza in the game opened the PizzaHut online order form. Except this would actually be useful.
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Post by: Xenos on January 13, 2007 09:59 am CST: Quote from: "Bovidi"
The tribes function that opens the url is HTMLOpen();

Maybe if you release a gui for the main menu that changes the link of the website button to your website. It isn't that hard to change the link I managed to do that in my RPG_Menu gui.

Quote from: "Kyrie"
If you hardcoded with the functions in Tribes, you could make a command like #forum that would open the forum right up. That'd be pretty sweet.

Couldn't that be exploited by a server to send someone to a website unvoluntarily? I know most major servers wouldn't do it(ie Parts and Sin's) but other servers could have the potential of doing it.

Yea it could be exploited by a server only. You should only play on servers you trust anyway. From what I remember this wouldn't work right from the start anyway. The server can't send random commands to the client. The client must have a remotefunctionname() for a server to use it. So either the client would have to click it from the tab menu( I think that can run local functions) or you would need the client to have a remoteHTMLOpenAndGoWin(); function because using #forum would have the server run the code.

This is the same problem sinisters server ran into when it tried to use a portal to connect players to the other server. We(longbow and I) had to make a remote function that the server could call on the client. Tribes has the security basics right.
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Post by: Particle on January 13, 2007 12:45 pm CST: Quote from: "Xenos"
Tribes has the security basics right.

Now that is entertainment.
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Post by: LOL Internet on January 13, 2007 09:47 pm CST: maybe because the people who play on the server now are ****ing retarded
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Post by: sin on January 14, 2007 12:24 am CST: I think adding a #forum command or #website command would be pretty cool. We've already got the infastructure to disperse any code that clients would need for it.
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Post by: Paradox666 on January 14, 2007 08:28 pm CST: Quote from: "LOL Internet"
maybe because the people who play on the server now are ****ing retarded
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Post by: Particle on January 15, 2007 02:33 am CST: That was you guys a few years ago (sin and a few others excluded).
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Post by: Bovidi on January 15, 2007 01:05 pm CST: Quote from: "Xenos"
You should only play on servers you trust anyway.
But then what about the new people who join they wouldn't know which server is trustworthy or not.

Quote from: "Xenos"
This is the same problem sinisters server ran into when it tried to use a portal to connect players to the other server. We(longbow and I) had to make a remote function that the server could call on the client.
I know all about remote functions, I use them in a new inventory thing I am making. Although the clients needs the remote function if they have it it could be exploited.

Quote from: "Xenos"
So either the client would have to click it from the tab menu( I think that can run local functions)
The client tab menu is built off of remote functions, they do not have any access to the clientside functions.

Quote from: "Xenos"
Tribes has the security basics right.

I seriously doubt that Tribes has the security basics right. From what I have seen in some of the code there were a lot of vulnerabilities because of the remote functions.

I don't deny that you could add the #forum in, it is actually a good idea but the only issue is whether it will be secure or not...because I seriously wouldn't want to get websites spammed all over my screen.
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Post by: sin on January 15, 2007 04:50 pm CST: The way I see it is like this. Dont be afraid to try new things because there's nothing that can be done that can't be undone.
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Post by: Particle on January 15, 2007 04:57 pm CST: What if you multiplied every number in a database by a new random each time? That'd be hard to undo.
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Post by: LOL Internet on January 15, 2007 06:31 pm CST: Quote from: "Particle"
That was you guys a few years ago (sin and a few others excluded).

yeah a few years ago it was the same (sin INCLUDED)

but a couple years before THAT it was fine
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Post by: Xenos on January 15, 2007 08:10 pm CST: Quote from: "Bovidi"
Quote from: "Xenos"
Tribes has the security basics right.
I seriously doubt that Tribes has the security basics right. From what I have seen in some of the code there were a lot of vulnerabilities because of the remote functions.

I don't deny that you could add the #forum in, it is actually a good idea but the only issue is whether it will be secure or not...because I seriously wouldn't want to get websites spammed all over my screen.

This is pretty basic and they do get it right. If they did it wrong it wouldn't check if the actual remote command came from the server. If it didn't anyone could send a remote command to another player. I've actually seen programs with similar remote function that didn't check where the source of the remote command came from.

Thats what I ment by basic.

Why you worrying about adding this to pcrpg. Nobody is suggesting its added to the offical(non-existant) codebase.

I think the reason people don't come to the forums is because wtf would they talk about. The game is too boring to talk about on the forum except griping.
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Post by: sin on January 15, 2007 08:34 pm CST: I'm cool with adding it. In fact it would save me alot of headaches from noobs who have unbound their Objectives button.
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Post by: 12Stones on January 16, 2007 04:46 am CST: Give the players incentive to come here (the ones that play and don't post here). Do some type of quest that utilizes forum + game and I bet you lots more people will post.
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Post by: sin on January 16, 2007 05:27 am CST: Yeah, I can see that. Example of types of posts:

OMG

HAXXXX
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Post by: Xenos on January 16, 2007 06:43 am CST: QUEST PLZ!!!111!!1!
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Post by: Particle on January 16, 2007 08:16 am CST: Quote from: "Xenos"
I think the reason people don't come to the forums is because wtf would they talk about. The game is too boring to talk about on the forum except griping.

It used to be a really live place with the serverites talking about anything and everything that interested them.
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Post by: Sako on January 16, 2007 09:45 pm CST: I've never noticed that tokath is writing the forum adress on the server.. maybe you could make Tokath say something in Global about the forum each 30 mins or more/less
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Post by: Paradox666 on January 16, 2007 11:01 pm CST: You know when you get a Particle Point?

Well add on some malarkey like....for more info on PP's go to "site here"
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Post by: villman420 on January 17, 2007 12:14 am CST: he actually does haha. he tells you what contest is being ran and to visit points.pcrpg.org. i know its not hard to find your way to forums from there but you gotta realize is that if its not a direct link to the forums, people wont take their time to look
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Post by: sin on January 17, 2007 12:36 am CST: We sucessfully made a beta of

#forums
and
#website

It's not open to the public yet until we properly test it.
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Post by: Lidge Farkley on January 17, 2007 04:13 pm CST: Quote from: "LOL Internet"
Quote from: "Particle"
That was you guys a few years ago (sin and a few others excluded).

yeah a few years ago it was the same (sin INCLUDED)

but a couple years before THAT it was fine

I actually agree with this statement.. eww.
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Post by: Particle on January 17, 2007 05:31 pm CST: We've been going for six years now, so it's kind of hard to keep track.
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Post by: Celtic16 on January 30, 2007 05:49 am CST: probally the reason most people don't come to the forums lately is the spam bots, they really do a lot of damage to a forum.
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Post by: sin on January 30, 2007 02:29 pm CST: Quote from: "Celtic16"
probally the reason most people don't come to the forums lately is the spam bots, they really do a lot of damage to a forum.

He's doing everything to try and stop em.
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Post by: Celtic16 on January 30, 2007 04:21 pm CST: i didn't say he wasn't.. He could block free email addresses..that'd stop them..right?
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Post by: Particle on January 30, 2007 07:04 pm CST: it helps but doesn't solve anything
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Post by: Vorter_X_ on February 7, 2007 04:35 pm CST: How about darwin and I start posting like normal again? Me and him always have opinions on everything that anyone could possibly talk about.
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Post by: 12Stones on February 7, 2007 04:43 pm CST: No.. seriously. Do a quest that has forum involvement.

You get a quest in game that gives you a URL (http://www.pcrpg.org/questwhatever (http://www.pcrpg.org/questwhatever)) and you get further instructions (or a hint for the quest). There is a URL function in tribes that will alt+tab you and send you to a site, so you could automate that. I think it would be a good way to get the players in the server to post here more often.
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Post by: LOL Internet on February 8, 2007 11:40 am CST: if they need a quest to open their browser for them to figure out where the forum is do we really want them posting
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Post by: Particle on February 11, 2007 09:22 am CST: Quote from: "LOL Internet"
if they need a quest to open their browser for them to figure out where the forum is do we really want them posting

You know what--that's a good point.
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Post by: Paradox666 on February 11, 2007 09:48 am CST: I never really looked at it like that..
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Post by: plasma on March 4, 2007 08:05 pm CST: Didn't want to start a new thread on the same topic. But it seems like 50% of the people who post here don't even play on the server. That is fine, but it just shows that even a lower number of people who play on the server are posting.
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Post by: Particle on March 4, 2007 10:05 pm CST: That's always been true though. People don't have to play to be nice to talk to, but I do like to encourage players to participate (especially considering most command decisions are based on what I see here--it would be in their best interests to participate).