I think Maplantis's core values are what set it apart from SEN. At Maplantis
Then people go from Maplantis to SEN and expect a continuation of Maplantis, which doesn't work. SEN is not Maplantis. You don't switch from orange juice to apple juice and expect the same taste.
Quote from name:Oo.Twitch.oO
1.Ban everyone that was banned on maplantis
1. No, they get a fair chance here under my/moose/ip's rule. Report objectionable content when you see it, and the same fate awaits them as did on maplantis.
He speaks the truth. Many, if not most of them have been banned already. Unfortunately, I don't have a list of people banned from Maplantis handy.
Overall, in the coding scene, I think the biggest thing isn't neccessarily lots of new things coming, but the idea that the admin was dedicated, and that our features were on the way. Whenever we talked to Yoshi, he would give us updates, and he would listen to our feedback to make the site better.
Yeah, unfortunately we are still stuck in a land of incomplete features. Mostly everything still needs either a little bit of work, or a lot of work.
When IP does his coding, he seems to try to come up with some system in his head, that he thinks will work well. Unfortunately, it usually doesn't work well for the people using the system. What I'd like to see happening is the admins talking to the members, making posts, asking for ideas on how to do things, etc. This includes policies. On Maplantis the idea of minerals was discussed, and abandonned because people didn't want it. Here, it was discussed, people didn't want it, and IP made it anyways. This is the kind of thing I'm talking about.
Me and IP both agreed to have them. My only problem is that we both had different ideas about how to implement it... and it wasn't done my way. This also applies to many other areas. I'm not saying that IP should be a robot and code everything the way I say it should be done, that wouldn't be fair to him... but I just feel that a lot of formulas and other sections that he codes are superfluous or overcomplicated. But, ultimately, he is entitled to do this.
Also, it's not simply a matter of banning people who are stupid and or idiots. It's a matter of having a general attitude towards those people. Wheras on Maplantis, if someone acted stupid, members would talk to him about it, ask him to correct his spelling, etc. Also, it was generally considered unacceptable to make off-topic posts. Again, if there was a member-to-member dispute, it would either be kept in PMs, or an admin would come in and clear up the topic for the poor OP.
IMO, this is again a size issue and a time factor. I do not wish to monitor every word posted. This is why I say that posts should be reported and I should be called in for backup if need-be.
Also, look at the general seriousness of the site. When newbies arrive, they see a bunch of idiots goofing off, admins doing things "for teh lulz", off-topic posts, and they learn from it, and act the same. Maplantis taught new users to be mature, and hard workers. Age doesn't matter, as long as one is capable of acting mature.
Okay, but Maplantis started off mature and enforced that. There is a matter of changing a long-upheld standard here. How do I go about uprooting such firmly implanted traditions?
Also, you get a general idea of what this site is about just by looking at how easy it is to access features. Functions that are related to Starcraft editing get 1/5th of the main menu bar. That's for a site dedicated to starcraft editing!? Maplantis' main menu bar 4/6 of the functions were directly Starcraft-editing related. The forum has equally as much weight on Maplantis as the Wiki or Maps, wheras on SEN someone looking for a map has far more work to do.
Notice that there's also about 15 more links that SEN has to fit into the menus. Sure, we could throw the DLDB, Wiki, etc. into their own buttons... but then how do we fit everything up there?
Simplicity is another big thing. I liked Maplantis' design (not it's skin, its layout), because it's very simple, very sleek, and very professional. Someone looking for maps has a very easy one-click link, followed by a very simple, easy-to-use menu, where he can select maps based on genre, search maps, submit maps, all in a very simple menu. With SEN, one has to click several links to get to a "Database" which is really just all in one, thus removing extreme amounts of organization or simplicity. You're then presented with a complicated, messy, system for sorting maps. I've tried to use it several times, but it's just almost impossible to use easily.
Here's another big jump. Imagine SEN, and imagine Maplantis. Now take the forum away. Maplantis is still a very useful and active site, because it has its features weighted in priority correctly. SEN, on the other hand, would become a barren wasteland, an empty site. People would simply stop using it, and it would quickly die.
Agreed.
My chief gripe at the moment is about the tendency for the admins (Moose, in particular) to overreact when they feel things have slipped out of control. I agree that the law needs to be laid down, but it often seems that the wrong people end up paying for it. Gmods, such as myself and Syphon, were given their positions because our judgment was sufficiently trusted. But in the case of Jordan, for instance, Syphon made a remark against the person who was basically the site's punching bag. Moose himself allowed Jordan to overstay his welcome. But then, Heranic questioned the morality of Syphon's handling in that topic (which was right of Heranic to do), I think the proper thing to do would have been to PM Syphon about his conduct and tell him not to do it again, or make a post in the staff forum saying that we all need to tighten things up a bit. Firing a loyal member who was ultimately out for the betterment of the site was a bad call, in my opinion. You set the example for our treatment of Jordan by "keeping him around for amusement."
It wasn't just about JordanN. This wasn't the first time Syphon used his position and status to belittle others and flame. I had received many complaints about his attitude from verious users. Originally, I faulted the rules along with him for allowing moderators to be above the rules. I corrected that and warned him via MSN at that point, and decided not to change. Syphon was warned via MSN. He decided not to change...
and still hasn't.
You guys are giving us a great resource for free. I'm not forgetting that. But as part of the community, I feel compelled to speak my mind once in awhile. I just think you should remind yourself who your allies are and not sabotage your own efforts for a stable, productive community if that's what you're really after.
Thank you, sir.
This block here is a perfect example of why after the majority was begging for latova, we were so sad to be handed v5. No offense IP but i believe the saying 'If it isnt broke, dont fix it.' applied here.
Last I checked, v5 production was started before Latova existed. See above about coming to SEN but expecting Maplantis, when SEN is not Maplantis.
The saying doesn't apply to novelty and innovation. StarCraft "ain't broke", why fix it by making mods or maps?
Post has been edited 2 time(s), last time on May 14 2008, 8:15 pm by Mini Moose 2707.
DT_Battlekruser
