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Post by Moot on Feb 3, 2011 13:29:28 GMT -5
I've been threatening to make this topic for long enough, so now is as good a time as any. In recent Super YC Revival Happy Fun Time DX Chats ( You should read the thread AND the logs posted in it if you haven't already), the idea of YC ditching Proboards and moving elsewhere was raised. Most of the IRC-goers seemed for it, but I - and probably the other staff - want to know what everyone else thinks about it. Nothing is finalised yet, so don't worry about YC suddenly disappearing or anything. Once something is decided there'll be some sort of announcement about it. A few arguments for the move - We'd have our own domain, possibly hosted on Pinks Yoshicurio domain much like the Secret Satan was, with board software that we'd have full control over. Most likely phpBB, or Invision boards. We'd also be getting a proper website at some point, but that's currently a ways off. I think YC used to have some sort of fansite run by Timyoshi around a billion years ago, but this would be a proper website with a proper CMS and everything. What would actually go on there is another thing altogether, though. All in due time! Somebody floated of the idea of renaming YC to Yoshicurio to match the new domain (if we used it) but that's probably best left for another time. All this talk of board moves and revival efforts seem to have the board all geared up so I don't think we'd be short on activity if we made a move. A few arguments against - YC is getting on in years with a lot of history behind it, and some people might not want to move elsewhere after investing so much time in it. I've been here since March 2004, which wasn't too long after the board was created if I'm right (I'm probably not). We've seen some awesome times here and some pretty silly times, what with YCs own legendary trolls and admins going a bit mental now and again. Moving boards would mean we'd be leaving that behind, with the possible chance that if we left YC, Proboards might end up deactivating YC for inactivity which would leave the board essentially inaccessible. Don't quote me on that though, I'm not entirely certain if this whole deactivation thing is actually true or not but I think it best to throw it out there. Backing up YC is out of the question as Proboards don't allow it, and I'm almost certain they wouldn't take kindly to somebody crawling the board trying to save every single thread ever made since 2004. For the move again, The longer we stay the more history we make which ultimately means we'd be leaving more behind. Of course, there's nothing against individuals saving memorable threads for themselves to possibly be uploaded elsewhere at a later date. I didn't intend to type this much out, and this is probably more than I've typed in a single post then all of last years posts combined so I hope you didn't get bored reading all this rambling. TL;DR: Would you be for a board move, or against it?I'd really appreciate if it everyone can post their opinions in this thread, even you Active Users In The Past 24 Hours who just read without posting anything. YC is as much your board as ours so all opinions are welcome. If you're for a move, why is that? What can we do to make the new board as awesome as possible? If you're against, what's stopping you? How could we make a transition to New YC smoother? |
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Post by Sanjo on Feb 3, 2011 17:43:10 GMT -5
I'm all for the move. It would be a nice start to our resolution to try to actually do something for this forum and not stop short with just the ideas or plans to do something. My own concern is (which I can actually say clearly now and not in a roundabout way like I did in the revival thread) whether people will choose to be more active on the new interface or if we will be stuck with our old ways of keeping ideas and responses in our heads. However, I have not doubt in my mind with everyone who has shown up to the IRC chat sessions that my concern is not that likely to happen.
And sorry if I sound like I'm flopping from one side to the other, but after genuinely thinking about it for a while, this is what I have come to.
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Post by Enrique on Feb 3, 2011 17:55:05 GMT -5
When this discussion of potentially moving the board started taking place, I took the stance of "I really don't care; just let me know what comes of it." However, as time has gone on, I've taken a more pro-moving opinion, mostly for the sake of the community. Like I said in the other thread, I think this community has a better chance of revival by moving the community to a new board, where it can take on the image of a community looking to start fresh, than staying on this old board, which may give the image that its best days are behind it and has multiple cries for activity. This is on top of the fact that having an actual domain would give us the flexibility to expand the community to do whatever and however we like, which is most definitely an upgrade to the way things have been the past seven or so years of YC's existence. I do realize that a lot of history could be lost - and there are certainly ways to combat that - but I think that's a risk worth taking. While the history is glorious at some points, the community needs to make its own glory in order for it to revive itself. There are certainly the personalities and creativity here to generate such, and who knows what additionally could come - or come back - in the advent of a new board.
In terms of what I want to see in a new YC, I don't think I can think of anything that hasn't already been mentioned in earlier IRC shindigs (mostly by someone else). I think the idea of one account for a multitude of projects across the domain would be nice. I think a personal board/blog as a replacement of the Fan Journal would be interesting. But in general, I'm not too picky in what I want from a board (other than an interface that makes sense).
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Post by red.yoshi on Feb 3, 2011 20:15:45 GMT -5
I'm against it for the reasons you mentioned above.
It just seems so much easier to post a link to the boards, and a link on the boards back to YoshiCurio. I don't see really how much more you could do to a new board, even if it was like invisionfree or php, that would spark newcomer interest.
I kinda feel childish, stubborn, and immature saying this, but I'd also really hate losing the domain name and the history backing this place. I've considered joining other boards and I've decided against it, or I've tried and not kept active, (not that I've been 100% active around these parts.) I feel like a good chunk of my childhood has been spent here, which it has, and I feel like that compels me to come back time and time again.
From the poll, it seems like all the members who voted are already gung-ho on the moving idea; it looks like I'm the odd one out. Lol
On a side note: don't you guys think we'll be in the same position after the move? After everything's been said and done, I see us scratching our heads with a "now what?" kind of expression, back at square one. I guess what I'm trying to say is that we most likely still have those YC revival threads lingering around the new board. This really does seem like we're wagering history for cosmetic appeal and a new domain name.
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Post by teh yoshi on Feb 3, 2011 21:16:05 GMT -5
I'll be fine with either way.
I know I've been secretly against the whole moving prospect from the start, but now I wouldn't want to become a blockade to all of the members who wants to keep moving forward. I'm starting to see some advantages of beginning on a clean slate. But again, I can only hope that account integration will happen if the move does occur. It'd be nice if we could have our forums, Yoshi oekaki, Yoshi art gallery, and other dreams all attached to one account.
And if we don't move, then we don't move. Simple as that.
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Blitzzoshi
Yoshi
Much gratitude, Anjil.
Posts: 291
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Post by Blitzzoshi on Feb 3, 2011 21:39:12 GMT -5
Pink is looking into ways we can tie the different sites together, yes. As long as they're all PHP-based, he says it shouldn't be too difficult. Post dissection time! It just seems so much easier to post a link to the boards, and a link on the boards back to YoshiCurio. Why? We have so many reasons to move off of ProBoards, which leads us to the next point... I don't see really how much more you could do to a new board, even if it was like invisionfree or php, that would spark newcomer interest. A number of things: 1. ProBoards has very poor skinning capabilities. We want to refresh our look to make it more attractive to newcomers as well as longtime visitors. This theme is stale. We can do better. 2. On ProBoards, we're forced to use a Karma system that the staff can't turn off. Never mind. 3. Account integration. 4. Services integration. 5. More generally, we can add anything we want to the new boards. Most forum software is highly customizable if you're running it on your own server. 6. A newcomer will have comfort knowing that the history they create on the boards will be in good hands. 7. No more unsafe, invasive and obtrusive banner ads. That speaks volumes to prospective members. ...but I'd also really hate losing the domain name and the history backing this place. That's not our domain name, that's ProBoards' domain name. It doesn't belong to us. We need a domain name we can call our own. Also, we are considering keeping this forum around as a museum. I've considered joining other boards and I've decided against it, or I've tried and not kept active, (not that I've been 100% active around these parts.) I feel like a good chunk of my childhood has been spent here, which it has, and I feel like that compels me to come back time and time again. Is it not in part because of the people who visit the place? If anything, that is the one part of a community that transcends the physical form of a website. They will not be lost in the move. In fact, we've lost more by _not_ moving. On a side note: don't you guys think we'll be in the same position after the move? After everything's been said and done, I see us scratching our heads with a "now what?" kind of expression, back at square one. I guess what I'm trying to say is that we most likely still have those YC revival threads lingering around the new board. This really does seem like we're wagering history for cosmetic appeal and a new domain name. I understand that it might be a concern, but it doesn't really worry me too much, in part because we're going to be on a roll with revitalization efforts anyway. When we get our new toys to play with, we can find new ways to stimulate interest. We can find additional integration, extensions, etc. that can help tie everything together or open up new avenues to explore efforts. We'll also simply be excited to be on this new board that we will definitely want to start by posting on it! Oh, and by the way, the move encompasses waaaay more than just "cosmetic appeal and a new domain name." |
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Post by Yoshiken on Feb 3, 2011 22:43:18 GMT -5
I don't know what to say that hasn't already been said, but change will cause activity. I know it. We will have a chance to bring in newcomers and activity, and bring about the "good ol' days" that we have been dreaming about for the last few years. This move is what we need.
I truly believe that we are closer than we have ever been to those "good ol' days." Let's not quit now.
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Post by Rainbow Yoshi on Feb 3, 2011 23:58:05 GMT -5
Regarding proboards potentially deleting this forum due to inactivity...
I remember another proboards forum I used to go to that was dying a few years ago, so I looked it up to check on its activity. Their last post was June 2010, and the last one before that was May 2009. So it looks like at least a year of inactivity is still safe.
And I'm for the move. I don't really have much to say that hasn't already been said. I have grown very fond of this place, and I spent a lot of my childhood here. A small part of me doesn't want me to move because of this, but I think it would truly be for the best.
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Post by Sanjo on Feb 4, 2011 0:47:28 GMT -5
On a side note: don't you guys think we'll be in the same position after the move? After everything's been said and done, I see us scratching our heads with a "now what?" kind of expression, back at square one. I guess what I'm trying to say is that we most likely still have those YC revival threads lingering around the new board. This really does seem like we're wagering history for cosmetic appeal and a new domain name. I understand that it might be a concern, but it doesn't really worry me too much, in part because we're going to be on a roll with revitalization efforts anyway. When we get our new toys to play with, we can find new ways to stimulate interest. We can find additional integration, extensions, etc. that can help tie everything together or open up new avenues to explore efforts. We'll also simply be excited to be on this new board that we will definitely want to start by posting on it! Honestly, Blitz, I have the same concerns. I, too, think that they are unlikely, but I am worried about us reverting to square one after the move is done. I think since we've had the "committee" meeting up and talking about what needs to be done, it won't happen, but we do need to keep morale up if we want to completely avoid it. Side Note: since this topic of discussion is now in the form of a poll, can friday's meeting be more focussed on what we are going to do after the move, especially in terms of tournaments, activities, and what we're going to do to draw people in? |
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Blitzzoshi
Yoshi
Much gratitude, Anjil.
Posts: 291
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Post by Blitzzoshi on Feb 4, 2011 1:51:36 GMT -5
Yes, of course we could discuss those things! The meetings are pretty informal, and there's no real agenda, so anyone can direct the conversation as they choose.
If you'll be in Friday's meeting, be sure to bring the subject up in chat, just in case!
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Post by red.yoshi on Feb 4, 2011 14:09:52 GMT -5
I don't know, don't you think it would make more sense to have a dual board thing going on? One named Yoshicurio forums and one named Yoshi's Corner? We can put a pretty little hot link at the bottom of the page and everything, or even put a link in the news fader.
Plus, if we do follow through with this dual board thing, we could see just how much attention Yoshicurio forums attract within the first month, or maybe first couple months. It's a fail-proof plan if a merge should (and probably will) happen later down the line. It also allows the admins to test and implement new functions, and gives us an insight for what may be to come.
And does anyone really know proboards policy for forum inactivity? I doubt they'll delete a board that has at least one member posting on it here and there; and from what I've read they allow you a 3 month grace period.
I'm really not trying to cause an upheaval, but right now it seems our plan of action is "let's move, then let's see what we can do." It's sort of like tackling a house without a schematic, or tackling a computer program without no plan. (I'd be more easy going if I saw some sort of plan of action, but it seems like we're just planning now, today, the plan of action after the move.)
I still stand by my first hypothesis, but I'll end my post with this: if users could test out all of these features you speak of in a potential new Yoshicurio forum, I feel as if suggestions for implementations will come much easier.
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Post by andrevus on Feb 4, 2011 14:54:42 GMT -5
I don't even know why am i posting in this thread everyone who saw me during the IRC or at least read the log knows that im up for it anytime.
Other than that i had an idea today that if we really want to keep our history and not let ProBoards delete the board (that is IF the board gets deleted) someone could just go up here in the future and post a bumping post every month or so to reset the grace period.
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Post by Sanjo on Feb 4, 2011 16:18:43 GMT -5
I don't know, don't you think it would make more sense to have a dual board thing going on? One named Yoshicurio forums and one named Yoshi's Corner? We can put a pretty little hot link at the bottom of the page and everything, or even put a link in the news fader. Plus, if we do follow through with this dual board thing, we could see just how much attention Yoshicurio forums attract within the first month, or maybe first couple months. It's a fail-proof plan if a merge should (and probably will) happen later down the line. It also allows the admins to test and implement new functions, and gives us an insight for what may be to come. It's an interesting idea, and theoretically it would be better. I do need to play devil's advocate, however, and bring up two things about this. The first of which is that I don't think we currently have enough man(and woman)-power to actually pull an experiment like this. The second of which is the following: we all have gone through our phases where we visit here and sort of forget about it or not visit it as much somewhere down the line. If we had trouble just trying to keep up with one site, then who's to say that we would do better visiting two websites? Don't get me wrong, I think it is a great idea as well, but I don't quite see it happening given these conditions. Edit: I fastposted Moot... sorry! =P |
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Post by Moot on Feb 4, 2011 16:22:51 GMT -5
I don't know, don't you think it would make more sense to have a dual board thing going on? One named Yoshicurio forums and one named Yoshi's Corner? We can put a pretty little hot link at the bottom of the page and everything, or even put a link in the news fader. Plus, if we do follow through with this dual board thing, we could see just how much attention Yoshicurio forums attract within the first month, or maybe first couple months. It's a fail-proof plan if a merge should (and probably will) happen later down the line. It also allows the admins to test and implement new functions, and gives us an insight for what may be to come. Wouldn't mean we'd just have two boards with mostly the same userbase split between them? If anything I think that would reduce overall activity. Having everyone split between two boards doesn't make much sense to me. If anything I think we should get everyone over to the new board at once purely to save on all that messing around. On the subject of testing new things I don't see why we wouldn't be able to do that on the new board with more potential users to see it. It's not like there's anything stopping anyone reverting changes or anything if they don't work out. On the flipside of that, the longer we hang around here and continue to plan things, the longer it's going to take overall to move. I'd rather we got the basic things sorted out first - namely the new board, and possibly the framework of a website - then trying to get everything perfect, because most likely it'd take far too long to get everything integrated and working and everyone would lose interest. It's happened before with Revival threads and I'd rather this one actually got somewhere instead of a lot of good ideas with zero execution. edit - I got fastposted aaaaaaaaaaa |
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Post by red.yoshi on Feb 4, 2011 16:53:21 GMT -5
Yeah, I see where you're coming from.
(And jeez guys, -4 karma in < 24 hrs for voicing my opinion? I must really be popular. P;')
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Post by Digi on Feb 4, 2011 17:17:23 GMT -5
I thought you already have - karma, red? If people are smiting him for that sort of reason that's pretty lame. The entire point of this thread is for people to voice their opinions on the topic. :\
About the actual topic, I voted yes since it seems to be eventual anyway, though I really don't care if a move occurs or not. As long as there's a more defined plan for the future than we currently have. But that's what the chat is for~
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Post by Anjil on Feb 4, 2011 17:54:12 GMT -5
I had meant to reply to this sooner, but the last time I logged on was late last night, so I didn't have the time to type much out. I'm all for a move. Really, the thought of having this place refreshed and fully customizable makes me kind of excited! I'm looking forward to a central website being built where all our little off-shoots can be linked from. Other than that, I really have nothing else to add to what has already been said. But question: Is forum's name staying Yoshi's Corner? Or is it being changed to YoshiCurio? (And jeez guys, -4 karma in < 24 hrs for voicing my opinion? I must really be popular. P;') Wow, seriously. An opinion in a thread obviously made for debate is not grounds for reducing karma. Well, karma is a lame idea to begin with, and another reason I want to move. |
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Post by red.yoshi on Feb 4, 2011 18:46:41 GMT -5
Yeah, I could've sworn I had 0 karma yesterday, or the day before that. I think someone cleared my slate before then because I did have negitive karma. But I only posted here and the art thread since then, but anyway, its nothing really to cry over. It just surprised me so I thought id bring it up, I mean I thought wed be more mature than this.
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Post by Moot on Feb 4, 2011 19:27:41 GMT -5
But question: Is forum's name staying Yoshi's Corner? Or is it being changed to YoshiCurio? As far as I know we're staying Yoshi's Corner, the Yoshicurio name was an idea floated by somebody so our name would match the new domain. |
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Post by PinkFloydYoshi on Feb 5, 2011 13:56:38 GMT -5
I thought you already have - karma, red? I thought he had - karma for ages. *shrug* Karma can be turned off in Proboards, in fact, I just did it. Everyone knows my feelings on this subject, but I'm not going to vote as I feel it's kinda lame, as staff to vote when this is supposed to be something the members should be voting themselves for. I want it, but while I have reasons as a member, I also have reasons as a staffer (Makes our jobs much easier, allows for greater flexibility in doing almost anything and allows us to strengthen everything about this community, rather than just prettify it a bit) so it has more benefits for us. |
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