Hard Light Productions Forums
Off-Topic Discussion => General Discussion => Topic started by: Unknown Target on December 18, 2003, 12:48:41 pm
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I was just thinking, wouldn't now be the best time to expand the FS community? It used to be hundreds of FS websites all over the place, now basically everything is concentrated here at HLP.
Soo, I think now would be one of the best times to start making new websites to provide for more expansion in the community, and so, say, if HLP goes down, the entire community isn't shut down for the duration of the time it takes for it to get back up.
My plan is, we get some big thing. Saaay, a demo of the FSUP. We set up websites, with forums, and the usual, get some activity going, set up a couple "Need help with FSUP?" or "OMG FSUP IS SO UBER!!!!!111"
We then distribute it (whatever it may be, I'm just saying FSUP because it's the best I could think of currently that shows off the new stuff done by the SCP), and give links to those websites, as well as HLP (naming HLP, say, the Un-Official FS source). People flock to all the websites, and we build up the community again.
Ideas? Comments? Critizisms?
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The FS community is NOT based around HLP. Just the English-speaking chunk of it. There are some good Polish and Russian FS communities.
Granted, they lack the scale of HLP, but.....so what?
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It may be a good idea, expecially if people here at hlp will support it...
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an0n: What's the native language of Freespace? English
What's the majority (read: pretty much all) of the stuff for FS done in? English
What's the major portion of the FS community in? English.
So it would be best to expand it for the English-speaking audience, don't you thinK?
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Native language has nothing to do with it.
The only reason all the things you see released are in English is because all the English-speaking FS peeps migrated here after the VBB fell.
Granted HLP represents the largest single collection of FS peeps and resources, but there are still plenty of non-English FS peeps and sites. So it'd probably be a better idea to start a campaign of member-leeching at the foreign boards using HLP's size and status as the 'least unofficial' FS community.
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Why there? There's probably a greater audience for English speaking FS players, and it's already there, stemming from other English releases such as Freelancer and Starlancer and the rest of them.
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It's easier to find semi-English FS people than it is to convert FL 'tards to the FS cause.
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How about we just distribute to all sites, English and non english?
And link to those major Polish and Russian sites you were talking about as well?
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Wing Commander Saga will surely bring some new people in, too.
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Only one I got handy: http://www.freespace.prv.pl/
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Originally posted by Unknown Target
say, if HLP goes down, the entire community isn't shut down for the duration of the time it takes for it to get back up
Volition Watch. :ha:
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Whenever HLP dies, everyone just flocks to the semi-associated boards like WS, NW, VWBB and VBBX; Or they camp out in IRC. So it's not that big of a deal if people have to scatter for a day or so.
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I'm talking about long-term, not just day to day.
Besides, admit it, it would be nice to have more than one or two central FS sites again.
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Not really.. I mean.. see the benefits, but ultimately, it's just another forum to surf and would probably end up like VW.
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Not just a forum, a bunch of content. Most other websites I've seen are mostly about the content on the website, and not about the forum, with HLP being the exception.
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Why bother de-centralising everything when we can just suck it all into one place?
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Because if and when that place goes down (saay, GS terminates our hosting, or the admins decide to move on, or some freaky **** like that) we'll have a sort of "bomb shelter" to fall back on.
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there is still VWBB if that happens
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Face it. We are a bunch of cave men... living in a cave (HLP)... perfecting the club while we use arrows to hunt. The only people we can recruit are those living in other caves (gaming forums and sites) and a few of the outside world.
When HLP goes down (NEVER!!!) other sites will not spring up in it's place... It will just be one fewer refuge from the storm that will ultimately claim all that is FreeSpace.
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I have a freind that has virtually a virtually unused domain. Hes in a christian college and has no acces to the internet while hes there(:ick) wev got forums and junk on the "site" be we still have no idea what were gonna do with it. I think hed be willing to let me use the domain (or at least a subdomain). He has played Freespace so he knows what its all about. Bsides i was thinking of hosting SCP related junk on it anyway. (just so evrything is in one place, and we dont have to link n00bs to a dozen different sites)
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How can I be the first to mention F2S on this entire thread...?
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the first of ... six possible?
:nervous:
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excellent idea Unknown Target :nod:
BUT you'll need interesting content that keeps your user coming back again and again, for example a community effort on some sort of project and new visuals perhaps ;).
Personally I think a unique online experience would be most entertaining! :D
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We had too much history of downtown BW, now they've lost their way. ;)
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Yep, but all that is fixed, and it's not just a matter of having these sites, as KT mentioned, it's a question of people actually visiting and participating in them as well :) Hunter can't MAKE people go to F2S.
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But the U.S. Federal Government can! :drevil:
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Maybe some free gifts :P
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Originally posted by Unknown Target
Because if and when that place goes down (saay, GS terminates our hosting, or the admins decide to move on, or some freaky **** like that) we'll have a sort of "bomb shelter" to fall back on.
Nope. Nope. Nope. Nope. Nope.
If GS decided to axe HLP then I'm guessing they'd just dump some banners on it and use the traffic to pay for a dedicated server. If that didn't work, the Admins would be gouged for the cash to pay for hosting. And if that didn't work then some fool with space and band-width, like me or Stealth, would host it.
And if the place has gotten so screwed that I pass up the opportunity to buy my way into power then I doubt anyone will be much bothered about it dying anyway.
See. No problems.
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Originally posted by an0n
fool with space and band-width, like me or Stealth, would host it.
or me. If you read my last post in here.....
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You realise the massive amount of MySQL space, disk-space, bandwidth and system resources that HLP consumes, right?
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and all that hard work you must do Drew
anyway if HLP fall's i try help too to get it back
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Originally posted by Unknown Target
...say, if HLP goes down, the entire community isn't shut down for the duration of the time it takes for it to get back up.
Dude, what're you thinking?!? HLP down time is the most productive hours in any MODder's week!
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True. I get more done when I can't access HLP (for various reasons).
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Ja.
HLP is probably is the leading reason why I don't do any homework until 8 or 9 each night. That's normal though, right?
:nervous:
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Pfft, I never did any homework at all. That's what school was for.
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Originally posted by an0n
Nope. Nope. Nope. Nope. Nope.
If GS decided to axe HLP then I'm guessing they'd just dump some banners on it and use the traffic to pay for a dedicated server. If that didn't work, the Admins would be gouged for the cash to pay for hosting. And if that didn't work then some fool with space and band-width, like me or Stealth, would host it.
And if the place has gotten so screwed that I pass up the opportunity to buy my way into power then I doubt anyone will be much bothered about it dying anyway.
See. No problems.
What, you expect that giving us hosting would mean you'd get any form of say?
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Well I would have complete control over every last little bit of information passing through the server, so: Yeah.
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As for expanding the FS community... I think "necklacing" is the way. One by one, we bring people in. I'd rather not have a funnel effect - things tend to change direction and leave their roots uncontrollably that way. That's what I invited all the early HLPers myself, by single emails. Not everyone responded positively, but those who did came and stayed.
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Originally posted by Setekh
As for expanding the FS community... I think "necklacing" is the way. One by one, we bring people in. I'd rather not have a funnel effect - things tend to change direction and leave their roots uncontrollably that way. That's what I invited all the early HLPers myself, by single emails. Not everyone responded positively, but those who did came and stayed.
I agree, we should be hitting all the "planet-" websites for newbies interested in space sims, and other communities who have active interests in games like fs2.
even programing wise to push for better coding etc.
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Originally posted by Setekh
As for expanding the FS community... I think "necklacing" is the way. One by one, we bring people in. I'd rather not have a funnel effect - things tend to change direction and leave their roots uncontrollably that way. That's what I invited all the early HLPers myself, by single emails. Not everyone responded positively, but those who did came and stayed.
I heard a great example once, about different methods of spreading a bit of news. If you, every day, told 1000 people this bit of news, it would take one million days, or 2739 years, to reach the whole of China.
But if you told one person the first year, then the next year both you and the first person told one person each, then the 3rd year the four people told one more person each, etc... how long would it take to tell the one billion in China?
30 years.
:D
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Originally posted by Unknown Target
I'm talking about long-term, not just day to day.
Besides, admit it, it would be nice to have more than one or two central FS sites again.
There have always been one or two central FS sites with a secondary site:
Descent Chronicles and Planet FreeSpace, Ross 128
Volition Watch and Hard Light Productions, FreeSpace 2 Sector
Volition's site and the VBB is exlcuded in this, because more than anything it served as a central forum for the FS sites when it was up.
This is excluding things like Warpstorm, Nodewars, squadrons and campaigns. Pretty much the main shift in the FS community over the years has been as opposed to squadrons people are doing things like Warpstorm.
With the online support in FS2 open, that might swing around for a little while the other way.
The strength HLP has, is being a "space sim community site" HLP can always support other games to attract people as well.
If anything, there are right now more FS-related sites then there were during the time between FS1-2 which a lot of people consider was when the community was the strongest.
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Originally posted by Hunt Smacker
Maybe some free gifts :P
We do the SCP!:)