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Difference between revisions of "User:Dismounted Feudal Knight/Assorted thoughts"

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(needed to get this out sometime so...)
 
(updated thoughts, long overdue)
 
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Another 'state of twc' post, part open letter part just a vent.
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When I [https://wiki.twcenter.net/index.php?title=User:Dismounted_Feudal_Knight/Assorted_thoughts&oldid=86740 first wrote] this, I was a moderator with a long standing chip on my shoulder. The administration read it and decided to offer me the job of Wiki Director, and then a spot as an administrator. That changes things. So this has gone from a post of frustration to a reply of sorts to my old attitudes on TWC, and a newer administrator's point of view on the state of the site.
 +
 
 +
__TOC__
  
 
==The situation==
 
==The situation==
 
TWC is in maintenance mode. Nothing new here.
 
TWC is in maintenance mode. Nothing new here.
  
−
There are seven hex. One is basically retired, two are active in stuff and the rest drop sharply from there. Content is propped up by two members at the moment across nearly a dozen departments, Gaming is defunct, technical is awol and admin stuff is slowly moving along with the very few folks who check in. Moderation would seem to be most healthy but it's more fragile than it looks. You can count people who keep it going on one hand. I tend to feel very alone in things. I need to push, prod, pull for it and I've long abandoned 'next age of twc', instead concentrating on TWC doing the best in the form that it is. I don't know who to poke and I just make changes because I can and I like "linting". If TWC is going this way at least it doesn't have as many 404 links.
+
There are 8 hex as of this draft. 4 sign in with regularity, myself included. One does turn up but has been somewhat spotty as of late. Three have not been seen much and one is simply retired but 'protected', so cannot be updated. The 'missing hex' (not 100% gone but far too irregular) are a very senior tech/general admin, the lead tech admin, and the owner. Needless to say that does not look good. As far as branch health, tech is basically gone. Content is struggling, with too few people across too many departments. Moderation is relatively healthy but not unscathed. It gets on because there isn't a whole lot of activity to moderate. Gaming is defunct in the public eye. Not a whole lot can happen at the administrative level because they are few, strapped for time and the ones with the real 'juice' are the ones who are absent. This is not to mention the dire need of technical updates to underlaying software, if we ever hope to catch up even to other forums, in a time that is unkind to even the most updated forums, for a franchise that's struggled a lot and even when it's not controversial, leaves little room for TWC's old niches to thrive.
  
−
There is not a lot of room short of a miracle. The forum is on very old and slow software. The wiki software is past end of life for updates. The Discord is not owned by an active staffer and social media has gone quiet along with the hex who kept it going for a long time.
+
Basically even at full strength TWC is way past its prime. The site can only keep the lights on with little room to grow.
  
−
In all of this there are some bright spots.
+
Setting doom and gloom aside here is what TWC has going for it:
−
* There is ''just'' enough hex to do general stuff
+
* There is just enough staff/hex to keep the lights on, and slowly adjust things to fit
−
* The discord ''is'' usable
+
* The discord server is usable
−
* The wiki is the fastest loading part of the site and from what I've heard elsewhere it's especially used by modders for medieval 2
+
* The wiki is speedy and useful, particularly for medieval 2 modding
−
* Through sheer gravity TWC can still attract faces, old and new
+
* The sheer legacy of TWC still attracts visitors, old and new
 +
 
 +
TWC survives by playing up these strengths. It will no longer thrive, I don't think even GED at full strength could change that, but I think it still has a degree of use in the classic total war community. This is a use that can be cultivated.
  
 
==Options going forward==
 
==Options going forward==
 
===Best case===
 
===Best case===
−
The best option would be a "new deal" with GED: hex or a rep can empowered to take creative responsibility while he does his thing in the background, patting the server's back if it chokes a bit but otherwise going about his life. Hex would be made aware of the true state of the site, including if it is solvent or losing money, and what areas of the site make returns and are most objectively valuable to its survival with clear statistics. I would guess these would be the wiki and the articles section but this would have to be confirmed including if there's any outliers to consider
+
The best option is a technical reform where GED is more active or empowers someone who is to creatively operate the site day to day, and for himself or someone empowered to make key updates such as upgrading the wiki and performing deep tasks on the forum like hard deletions when needed to clean things up and feature updates. A full forum software upgrade is a dream but that would require these first steps to think about.
−
 
 
−
GED should not be expected to put more time into the site, he's propped it up over a decade and certainly years past the average site's due date, but I think he should empower people who can put in more. A few days of contact could oil the wheels for a few more years. Tech staff and such would be a nice bonus. I know he checks email so this could be one more.
 
  
 +
Ideally we're in a position where we clearly know what gets the best traffic and what exactly is needed to support the site, including if it's solvent or losing money. I assume articles and the wiki are the best things for the site but a clear confirmation is needed. Likewise, clarity on what's still draining the site would be appreciated so Hex can clean up more proactively. Either way, A few days of contact could oil the wheels for a few more years.
 
===If nothing else===
 
===If nothing else===
−
Barring GED's involvement there is only one thing that can be done, and that is hex who remain having a sit down and deciding where they go from here. It is my understanding they just want to keep things going. That's fine. With a bit of upfront now they can, and simpler than they have before. I'm going to be bold and say I think I could be helpful if I was in red, given some railings and allowed to prod along changes. We're all on the same team so we should all be on the same pag. If GED wants to stop by, awesome, otherwise we should do what we can. To date I have operated well beyond my scope as a moderator. I've updated a majority of pins in the Creative Workshop, audited the Modding Registries, acted as de-facto Wiki Director pushing the only creative and structural change the wiki has seen in a long time and a lot more, much of my inflated action count (ask abdul) is not moving sand piles. And if this results in nothing I will keep going I bore of it, or someone tells me no. But it doesn't have to end this way.
+
If there is no contact and no further direction then Hex itself must chart a course and carry on. Personally my angle is to do three things: reinforce the wiki, clean up where able on the forum, and encourage any aspect of the site that's alive while shelving things that bury what's left. As a Moderator I did quite a lot of thread level cleanup. As an administrator I do not have full power, but I do have better reach for this cleanup. Hopefully when a true Tech logs on I will have the power to do this sort of cleanup at the forum level. This may slightly improve speeds, but realistically I hope to just make things more navigable for users. This is of course in collaboration with Hex who are still on board and able. I intend to do this until, well, my interest lapses, or the plug is finally pulled (we simply have no idea if or when this could happen right now).
−
 
 
−
There needs to be a conversation and the site needs to operate in terms of where it is. The site's seen many reforms and it's time for another one. If GED doesn't give us an action plan then we figure out our own and unless he's gone back on what I've read from years ago, that he will not fault people for acting in the site's best interests, I think this is the way it should be. If he wants otherwise he should tell us so we stop putting in the energy. Or at least so I can.
 
  
 
==Section by section==
 
==Section by section==
−
The rest of this is just review and random ideas to help streamline things.
+
What follows is thoughts by department/site section. What was previously here is already seen by the right people so these are just extra food for thought, especially where being an administrator changes anything.
  
 
===Content===
 
===Content===
−
Look, there's three people who act as staff here; Caillagh, Alwyn and Raf. All have been the pillars for a long time. The rest are inactive or have not made actions corresponding to their roles. This no longer requires the greatly fragmented staff list that exists now, in membership alone it's more comparable to when the newly returned Siblesz was the face of Content production.
+
Content is still in need of streamlining, mainly on its lengthy staff page entry populated by very few people. This is a work in progress. I am ''not'' a content administrator, although I'm sort of ''the'' wiki administrator by proxy. Anything done on this would be in collaboration with Content Hex, and the staff who remain. This is basically RafSwi: it's fair to say the rest of Content Staff are either vacant or don't have much time day to day.
−
 
 
−
The biggest fragment is publications. Most have been dead for a long time. There's simply not enough people or energy to make them work. So I would suggest something simple: one publication, inclusive of reviews, highlights, state of the unions if someone wants to summarize what's new on TWC, and what have you. One publication could even attract talent by being more approachable than the formal presentation of the many forked publications. Anyone should be able to submit articles and the actual staff should assume the role of editors.
 
−
 
 
−
So, the wiki. I'll be straight: I wish to adopt it as Director, because I'm the only one who keeps it running and developed. Can I do most things now, yes, but it's a perversion when things are written to encourage joining the wiki team or contact the wiki staff when the wiki staff are inert and I am making all the decisions - advised by the few who still bother to discuss it, primarily by the last wiki director. There's no future in being a staffer without direction. It makes discussing the wiki in the wild difficult: I am a proactive editor trying to encourage people to use a wiki, but must avoid mentioning that the wiki is effectively abandoned by Content. This is a state of things that is fairly easy to fix and would at least oil the wheels for a bit.
 
−
 
 
−
TWC Downloads should become a Moderation affair
 
  
−
I won't say nix vacant branches, yet.
+
As I have become the Wiki Director I've assumed responsibility for doing whatever is possible here. And I'm optimistic - yes, the software is end of life, but it's still functional and easily picked up even if people don't have wiki experience. More on this as we go along. I can't promise huge waves but I would like to spread the wiki wherever it may be useful, bring in editors where possible, and improve content steadily over time. It's all we could ask for.
−
 
 
−
The Picture & Video Competitions are the healthiest op on the site and should be absolutely untouched except for Raf being granted any assistance he may desire to keep it going.
 
  
 
===Modding and Total War===
 
===Modding and Total War===
−
I'm not going to say resurrect the modding staff but I think there needs to be a red man willing to clean up sections. This is an audit that can only be done by an administrator. I know there's a little more to it in how it should be done but it should be attempted and every day that it's not makes a kitten cry, and I heard on the news that there have been salty floods in the past few years. Save the kittens: clean the TW sections.
+
As a newly endowed modding hex this is squarely in my domain. As originally written the intention is to audit the game forums and try to clear dead stuff so living projects, or at least usable ones (working download) can be highlighted. This is not a quick or easy process and will need to be done in waves, and with any support I can get. Between Gigantus, Flinn and the not-retired standing hex Lolisuck, there's backup here so I think it will go well, though slowly. Any assistance be it to report unusable forums or to make defunct sections useful again would be appreciated.  
  
−
Anything from there is... later.
+
It can't really begin until I get the ability to personally play with forums however. Anything before that is prep or wheel spinning.
  
 
===Gaming & Site Awards===
 
===Gaming & Site Awards===
−
It's difficult to say because Gaming is defunct or nearly so. Hotseating was the last living department and the pulse is gone. To be clear this is where I got my start on the site and I've kept tabs, and I know the light has faded. While I prescribe outreach to the hotseating people to see if the forum can become a useful static resource at least, it is possible this entire branch should be cut and its operations merged into others. Perhaps active staff must become a binary: content and moderation.
+
I hope to see progress on this matter eventually given my background in hotseating. But it's another 'come what may' situation. I don't want to see gaming or the site awards nixed but sooner or later we'll come to a point where these things will survive another year or we'll have to put them to bed in favor of what is still usable. If there are any developments you'll see them in forum side announcements.
  
−
Likewise the writing is on the wall with the end of the modding awards and diminishing taste in member awards though I would not say to trim this yet. I really don't know what's to be done here and I think above is more important but it's a discussion that should happen in public sooner than later before we prop up the next round in the coming year.
+
===Moderation===
 +
Any volunteer helps. I was a good chunk of moderation activity and I did not take up an overseer position as that would have pushed things too far. If you think you're cut for it send Abdul a message. It really doesn't matter if you can only show up from time to time, that's where we are at. If you can chip in you're probably good. Now if you have a recent history or whatnot, things probably haven't changed, I don't promise whatever was the issue before has gone away (now if it was years ago, ignore this and give it a shot). But you can still ask.
  
 
===The Curia===
 
===The Curia===
−
distraction
+
distraction, still.
 +
 
 +
Okay, I'm guilty of playing around here a bit, primarily for history purposes.
  
 
===Other thoughts===
 
===Other thoughts===
−
Hader should toss the discord keys to Abdul or Alwyn, maybe even Loli if he wants (discord staff was conventionally filed under gaming after all)
+
Instead of getting spanked for putting out a rant on the wiki I got a job. Hope never dies...
−
 
 
−
Flinn should get a gold mod mace
 
−
 
 
−
I kick myself for not accepting when ged offered a pink barbie for my profile
 
−
 
 
−
<s>close the mudpit</s>... <s>elect mudpit mods</s> idk
 
  
−
I should probably be spanked for sticking all this on the wiki...
+
This will probably be updated as situations change or progress is made.

Latest revision as of 18:02, 8 November 2023

When I first wrote this, I was a moderator with a long standing chip on my shoulder. The administration read it and decided to offer me the job of Wiki Director, and then a spot as an administrator. That changes things. So this has gone from a post of frustration to a reply of sorts to my old attitudes on TWC, and a newer administrator's point of view on the state of the site.

The situation

TWC is in maintenance mode. Nothing new here.

There are 8 hex as of this draft. 4 sign in with regularity, myself included. One does turn up but has been somewhat spotty as of late. Three have not been seen much and one is simply retired but 'protected', so cannot be updated. The 'missing hex' (not 100% gone but far too irregular) are a very senior tech/general admin, the lead tech admin, and the owner. Needless to say that does not look good. As far as branch health, tech is basically gone. Content is struggling, with too few people across too many departments. Moderation is relatively healthy but not unscathed. It gets on because there isn't a whole lot of activity to moderate. Gaming is defunct in the public eye. Not a whole lot can happen at the administrative level because they are few, strapped for time and the ones with the real 'juice' are the ones who are absent. This is not to mention the dire need of technical updates to underlaying software, if we ever hope to catch up even to other forums, in a time that is unkind to even the most updated forums, for a franchise that's struggled a lot and even when it's not controversial, leaves little room for TWC's old niches to thrive.

Basically even at full strength TWC is way past its prime. The site can only keep the lights on with little room to grow.

Setting doom and gloom aside here is what TWC has going for it:

  • There is just enough staff/hex to keep the lights on, and slowly adjust things to fit
  • The discord server is usable
  • The wiki is speedy and useful, particularly for medieval 2 modding
  • The sheer legacy of TWC still attracts visitors, old and new

TWC survives by playing up these strengths. It will no longer thrive, I don't think even GED at full strength could change that, but I think it still has a degree of use in the classic total war community. This is a use that can be cultivated.

Options going forward

Best case

The best option is a technical reform where GED is more active or empowers someone who is to creatively operate the site day to day, and for himself or someone empowered to make key updates such as upgrading the wiki and performing deep tasks on the forum like hard deletions when needed to clean things up and feature updates. A full forum software upgrade is a dream but that would require these first steps to think about.

Ideally we're in a position where we clearly know what gets the best traffic and what exactly is needed to support the site, including if it's solvent or losing money. I assume articles and the wiki are the best things for the site but a clear confirmation is needed. Likewise, clarity on what's still draining the site would be appreciated so Hex can clean up more proactively. Either way, A few days of contact could oil the wheels for a few more years.

If nothing else

If there is no contact and no further direction then Hex itself must chart a course and carry on. Personally my angle is to do three things: reinforce the wiki, clean up where able on the forum, and encourage any aspect of the site that's alive while shelving things that bury what's left. As a Moderator I did quite a lot of thread level cleanup. As an administrator I do not have full power, but I do have better reach for this cleanup. Hopefully when a true Tech logs on I will have the power to do this sort of cleanup at the forum level. This may slightly improve speeds, but realistically I hope to just make things more navigable for users. This is of course in collaboration with Hex who are still on board and able. I intend to do this until, well, my interest lapses, or the plug is finally pulled (we simply have no idea if or when this could happen right now).

Section by section

What follows is thoughts by department/site section. What was previously here is already seen by the right people so these are just extra food for thought, especially where being an administrator changes anything.

Content

Content is still in need of streamlining, mainly on its lengthy staff page entry populated by very few people. This is a work in progress. I am not a content administrator, although I'm sort of the wiki administrator by proxy. Anything done on this would be in collaboration with Content Hex, and the staff who remain. This is basically RafSwi: it's fair to say the rest of Content Staff are either vacant or don't have much time day to day.

As I have become the Wiki Director I've assumed responsibility for doing whatever is possible here. And I'm optimistic - yes, the software is end of life, but it's still functional and easily picked up even if people don't have wiki experience. More on this as we go along. I can't promise huge waves but I would like to spread the wiki wherever it may be useful, bring in editors where possible, and improve content steadily over time. It's all we could ask for.

Modding and Total War

As a newly endowed modding hex this is squarely in my domain. As originally written the intention is to audit the game forums and try to clear dead stuff so living projects, or at least usable ones (working download) can be highlighted. This is not a quick or easy process and will need to be done in waves, and with any support I can get. Between Gigantus, Flinn and the not-retired standing hex Lolisuck, there's backup here so I think it will go well, though slowly. Any assistance be it to report unusable forums or to make defunct sections useful again would be appreciated.

It can't really begin until I get the ability to personally play with forums however. Anything before that is prep or wheel spinning.

Gaming & Site Awards

I hope to see progress on this matter eventually given my background in hotseating. But it's another 'come what may' situation. I don't want to see gaming or the site awards nixed but sooner or later we'll come to a point where these things will survive another year or we'll have to put them to bed in favor of what is still usable. If there are any developments you'll see them in forum side announcements.

Moderation

Any volunteer helps. I was a good chunk of moderation activity and I did not take up an overseer position as that would have pushed things too far. If you think you're cut for it send Abdul a message. It really doesn't matter if you can only show up from time to time, that's where we are at. If you can chip in you're probably good. Now if you have a recent history or whatnot, things probably haven't changed, I don't promise whatever was the issue before has gone away (now if it was years ago, ignore this and give it a shot). But you can still ask.

The Curia

distraction, still.

Okay, I'm guilty of playing around here a bit, primarily for history purposes.

Other thoughts

Instead of getting spanked for putting out a rant on the wiki I got a job. Hope never dies...

This will probably be updated as situations change or progress is made.

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