New Torque3D forums are online
by Lukas Joergensen · 02/10/2015 (4:28 am) · 73 comments
New Torque3D forums, take 42
Hey guys, as some of you probably already know, I've set up a new forum over here forums.torque3d.org. As you can see, the url looks pretty official, and the SC seems to be willing to move over there. Back me up here guys!
So why move to a new forum? Frankly, this has been requested for months, but inertia has kept the community here. I think the combination of the increased and persistent amount of spam on the forums and other website issues will give the community the push needed to move over to a new website.
So what will the new forum have of new features?
Proper forum software!
Yes, now we can create proper forums and subforums with custom-tailored permissions. The SC can have a forum all to themselves and we can create whatever new forums we need, which brings us to the next point:The community is in control!
We decide what happens, we decide what features we want, we decide the design who gets banned, promoted or whatever.Proper TorqueScript syntax highlighting!
With control comes power, and that power can be used to highlight TorqueScript properly on our pages!No more spam!!!!!
Yes, you heard me. Now we have proper moderators, and proper anti-spam features. We will work actively to make sure the spam is removed and prevented on a regular basis.It's already active!
With over 140 posts, and 40 members you aren't entering a solitary desert. There is already activity over there!Modern design
We have modern Torque3D-theme on the forums, which looks nice and fits into the general Torque3D design used on other websites. This ensures consistency and ofc we have control over how it looks if we want to change it in the future. Furthermore, you can choose or request what style you want to view the website in, if you don't like the current look.Hello Kitty!
Q.E.D.
Ofc there are many more features/reasons to move, I just highlighted the highlights heh, to keep it short (I know your attention span :P).
See you on the other side!
About the author
IPS Bundle available at: https://www.winterleafentertainment.com/Products/IPS.aspx
#22
Thanks
tbarlow
02/14/2015 (1:58 am)
@Lukas Hi I tried to send an E-Mail to U Guys on you website but haven't got an answer back yet so I figure I would try to go Direct I have a Prob with One World and need to know who I can and need to talk to about it I have a couple I need help with so if I can get the affress on who to talk to that would be great I know this isn't the place to ask this sorry guys its off topic.Thanks
tbarlow
#24
02/14/2015 (5:21 am)
Possibly you should add '.org' to the title of this post in the event GG don't set up a link in the navigation bar. Emphasis that the forums are elsewhere rather than these forums revamped.
#25
I wanna start a thread which discusses certain issues concerning the transition, but now I don't know which forum it should go into :P
02/14/2015 (9:24 am)
@StuporMundi, a shame you edited your post. It did have some interesting points originally that I think we should address.I wanna start a thread which discusses certain issues concerning the transition, but now I don't know which forum it should go into :P
#26
Why to build a new forum ?
The main interest of the GarageGames Forum is to keep long time accumulated knowledges. Splitting posts may induce errors and waste of time on new comers.
What is the goal ?
02/14/2015 (9:31 am)
I Don't understand !Why to build a new forum ?
The main interest of the GarageGames Forum is to keep long time accumulated knowledges. Splitting posts may induce errors and waste of time on new comers.
What is the goal ?
#27
GarageGames don't have the time and resources to cater to what this community needs. The amount of spam on the forums is ridiculous and they have like, 1 guy who can clean it up once in a while.
In general the current solution is old and outdated, it lacks various features the community would like, and it's a huge advantage that we will be able to have more forums instead of just "Torque3D Pro" etc.
There is also the identity crisis, i.e. the engine is no longer owned by GarageGames, as a community, there is an interest in taking matters into our own hands.
We also need the flexibility that comes with having the community in control, we need to be able to create the forums we want, we need to be able to implement the features we want and modernize the forums. The current forum might (if there were no spam) be "good enough" for old-timers, but we also need to think about how we present ourselves to the public for pulling in more users.
The GG forums will probably be online for a long time, even if the community leaves. We can use the GG forums as an archive for old information and resources, we wont lose anything by leaving.
Leaving for a new forum has been discussed and suggested a hundred times over, the recent amounts of spam has just given us the push to actually move and leave this site behind. The image of the "recent threads" i posted in this thread earlier really illustrates how much of an issue spam is on these forums.
02/14/2015 (9:40 am)
@Vincent I think the reasons have been pointed out a couple of time by now.GarageGames don't have the time and resources to cater to what this community needs. The amount of spam on the forums is ridiculous and they have like, 1 guy who can clean it up once in a while.
In general the current solution is old and outdated, it lacks various features the community would like, and it's a huge advantage that we will be able to have more forums instead of just "Torque3D Pro" etc.
There is also the identity crisis, i.e. the engine is no longer owned by GarageGames, as a community, there is an interest in taking matters into our own hands.
We also need the flexibility that comes with having the community in control, we need to be able to create the forums we want, we need to be able to implement the features we want and modernize the forums. The current forum might (if there were no spam) be "good enough" for old-timers, but we also need to think about how we present ourselves to the public for pulling in more users.
The GG forums will probably be online for a long time, even if the community leaves. We can use the GG forums as an archive for old information and resources, we wont lose anything by leaving.
Leaving for a new forum has been discussed and suggested a hundred times over, the recent amounts of spam has just given us the push to actually move and leave this site behind. The image of the "recent threads" i posted in this thread earlier really illustrates how much of an issue spam is on these forums.
#28
But it also really needs a little help from GG to ensure it comes off smoothly.
02/14/2015 (9:44 am)
@Lukas - truth is I don't really care, so I decided to jump off the high horse. All GG need to do is close the ability to post here, killing off the spam, and change the direct link to point to your forums. The change would not be noticed except in much improved forums. You could possibly open T2D forums there so everyone has a home, the likelihood being they would never be used anyway as T2D seems pretty dead. Then simply put a link back to the closed forums so people can look for archived stuff (with a couple of caveats) and then it's all solved. It's a roundabout way to do it but one has to admit that the state of these forums is doing damage to the possibility the engines have a future. So it needs solving.But it also really needs a little help from GG to ensure it comes off smoothly.
#29
I Just published a post on GG history, view in my opinion... The less we can say is : it is not a bed of roses...
I had a similar initiative when InstantAction closed. But GG guys kept the knowledge nearly intact. And it's fine.
With your initiative, I think some loose of knowledge can be reality. And the amazing sum of knowledge here is priceless.
So I Think you have two way :
1 - Find an algorithm to backup all forums, resources, profiles, and make this content available on the new forum.
2 - Ask GG, And by this way a better forum. Yes recent spams, older lack on search (since instantAction) are boring.
If GG could only restore old GG forum which worked really fine (with the orange bar).
Currently, I'm publishing MyRPG Master, I constantly take bad remarks about Torque. And I Think initiatives like this one don't go in the right way.
Meanwhile, I agree GG Must react.
02/14/2015 (10:02 am)
@Lukas,I Just published a post on GG history, view in my opinion... The less we can say is : it is not a bed of roses...
I had a similar initiative when InstantAction closed. But GG guys kept the knowledge nearly intact. And it's fine.
With your initiative, I think some loose of knowledge can be reality. And the amazing sum of knowledge here is priceless.
So I Think you have two way :
1 - Find an algorithm to backup all forums, resources, profiles, and make this content available on the new forum.
2 - Ask GG, And by this way a better forum. Yes recent spams, older lack on search (since instantAction) are boring.
If GG could only restore old GG forum which worked really fine (with the orange bar).
Currently, I'm publishing MyRPG Master, I constantly take bad remarks about Torque. And I Think initiatives like this one don't go in the right way.
Meanwhile, I agree GG Must react.
#30
2. We should really stop depending on GG to fix all our problems, the whole idea of the MIT was to hand over the engine to the community and let the community take the wheel, we don't do that by keep depending on GG. Also what would it help that we reverted to even older forum software? The older forum is even more unlikely to handle the spam. These forums were also pretty much spam-free untill a year ago or so, the issue lies in the fact that the forums are old and static. We need to move to our own forums sooner rather than later, things are only going to go downhill from now on, more spam, more issues, to me that's not an option.
If the first thing new users see are "spam spam spam spam" then they will get a very bad first-impression, I think this initiative is going in exactly the right way. I even think the activity on the new forum reflects the effect this forum has on the community, people are more active than they have been on GG.com for a long time. A lot of old members also said that this was the push they needed to get back into the fray.
Tbh, it seems like the community has already made its choice, the only thing that's left is for GG to make a decision on how they want to handle it, and for the rest of the community to decide whether they want to move too or stay in this forum which I suspect will become desolate soon.
02/14/2015 (10:15 am)
@Vincent 1. I did that, but GG would prefer that we kept the old information here and use it as an archive, as that information is still valuable to them. I've actually come to like that arrangement, because we don't lose anything by using GG as an archive, we just need to lock the forums so they can't be posted to anymore.2. We should really stop depending on GG to fix all our problems, the whole idea of the MIT was to hand over the engine to the community and let the community take the wheel, we don't do that by keep depending on GG. Also what would it help that we reverted to even older forum software? The older forum is even more unlikely to handle the spam. These forums were also pretty much spam-free untill a year ago or so, the issue lies in the fact that the forums are old and static. We need to move to our own forums sooner rather than later, things are only going to go downhill from now on, more spam, more issues, to me that's not an option.
If the first thing new users see are "spam spam spam spam" then they will get a very bad first-impression, I think this initiative is going in exactly the right way. I even think the activity on the new forum reflects the effect this forum has on the community, people are more active than they have been on GG.com for a long time. A lot of old members also said that this was the push they needed to get back into the fray.
Tbh, it seems like the community has already made its choice, the only thing that's left is for GG to make a decision on how they want to handle it, and for the rest of the community to decide whether they want to move too or stay in this forum which I suspect will become desolate soon.
#31
Even subscribe... This Sorting list drives me crazy.
With Torque I can do games, I think :)
02/14/2015 (10:39 am)
For sure we can't spam your new forum...Even subscribe... This Sorting list drives me crazy.
With Torque I can do games, I think :)
#32
Most effective tool against spammers is the mods though, on new forums we are able to give people modding power.. Thats the key. There will probably be spam on the new forums, but now we are at least able to remove it.
Why does the sorting list drive you crazy? Was any of the options ambiguous?
02/14/2015 (10:48 am)
The sorting list keeps spammers away, spammers get through almost all captcha's. This thing keeps automated bots at bay for now.Most effective tool against spammers is the mods though, on new forums we are able to give people modding power.. Thats the key. There will probably be spam on the new forums, but now we are at least able to remove it.
Why does the sorting list drive you crazy? Was any of the options ambiguous?
#33
Games, Hardware, food, animals
Nothing works... Can't subscribe.
02/14/2015 (10:50 am)
I Answered, Games, Hardware, animals and food...Games, Hardware, food, animals
Nothing works... Can't subscribe.
#34
The change is a fait accompli already but surely it is worth a small effort to try and stop any additional damage to the perception T3D is a worthwhile engine.
02/14/2015 (10:56 am)
@Lukas - the problem that we're faced with is that GG will likely remain the landing page for most people new to Torque. This is simply because of the nature of the google search algorithm and the fact that a great many links and mentions of GG are littered everywhere. People will arrive here via many avenues and if there is no direct link from the forum button here when these visitors start digging around they will only find a completely dead forum. Good chance quite a few such visitors will never jump to your forum. GG is the home of these engines so a complete lack of activity here will not be good. This is why it is important to ask GG to make a small change to the forum link which is a reasonable request and not the last cry of an infant thrown out of the bath with the bathwater.The change is a fait accompli already but surely it is worth a small effort to try and stop any additional damage to the perception T3D is a worthwhile engine.
#35
... After writing this I suddenly realize whats wrong, I haven't fixed the CSS yet, so the "no" box is below instead of beside the "yes" box and therefore easy to miss. I'll get on fixing that immediately!
Edit, fixed it now. Sorry about that, I had completely forgotten to do that.
02/14/2015 (11:05 am)
@Vincent, your supposed to categorize them, like "games" in the "yes" box and "hardware, food, animals" in the no box. ... After writing this I suddenly realize whats wrong, I haven't fixed the CSS yet, so the "no" box is below instead of beside the "yes" box and therefore easy to miss. I'll get on fixing that immediately!
Edit, fixed it now. Sorry about that, I had completely forgotten to do that.
#36
02/14/2015 (11:06 am)
@StuporMundi ah, well yeah that's all on GG and how they respond to the change. I assume that they will make a good decision, but I'll leave those kind of discussions for the SC to handle, it's out of my scope :)
#37
02/14/2015 (11:27 am)
@Lukas - yes, but can't be done unless all the forums are at torque3d.org including the 2D ones, otherwise these forums still have to be accessed direct from GG without the intervening step of going to torque3d.org which means for many people these will still be the first port of call.
#38
02/14/2015 (11:37 am)
@StuporMundi, I wouldn't mind adding forums for Torque2D, if that community approaches me and tells me what they need. I will not be making decisions on their behalf.
#39
So later...
I think your registration method is too restrictive.
Meanwhile your initiative is quite interesting. Instead of getting Torque controlled by peoples who now don't care community, get the community back enjoy me. Even if I consider, in this launching time for my project as a bad news.
But, what's the opinion of the steering committee ?
02/14/2015 (12:04 pm)
You have exceeded the maximum number of registration attempts for this session. Please try again later.So later...
I think your registration method is too restrictive.
Meanwhile your initiative is quite interesting. Instead of getting Torque controlled by peoples who now don't care community, get the community back enjoy me. Even if I consider, in this launching time for my project as a bad news.
But, what's the opinion of the steering committee ?
#40
Btw, your project could have a sub-forum as well if you'd like. We were discussing doing an "other" forum category, which held forums for e.g. Torque2D Omni and other related engines/extensions. But you may prefer to have your own forums for that project.
02/14/2015 (12:25 pm)
The registration method is to prevent spambots, you have 5 attempts to get it right.Btw, your project could have a sub-forum as well if you'd like. We were discussing doing an "other" forum category, which held forums for e.g. Torque2D Omni and other related engines/extensions. But you may prefer to have your own forums for that project.
Azaezel
In focusing on that end however, it's become clear they simply do not have the resources to also maintain these forums as a place of uninterrupted discussion related to a product they are not actively interacting with in either a maintenance or development capacity. Folks that do have offered the alternative. I see no particular reason not to take them up on the offer.