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Message: <blockquote data-quote="Ketjak" data-source="post: 342437" data-attributes="member: 1083">Re: Re: Re: Re: What's the point?Morrus, this is my error. I thought I explained it well enough in the first thread on this subject. I'll dig it up if you care, but I don't: I can share it again, only more clearly and in a more refined manner than my original clumsy post. <img src="https://cdn.jsdelivr.net/joypixels/assets/8.0/png/unicode/64/1f642.png" class="smilie smilie--emoji" loading="lazy" width="64" height="64" alt=":)" title="Smile    :)"  data-smilie="1"data-shortname=":)" />Er, perhaps. I'll explain them again and try to show how a blend of the two formats will work for us all. The old-style news format with the new editorial format should be able to fit together.I'm not so sure. My ideal site was in operation for over a year and a half... unless the money's dried up.For what it's worth, I went ahead and paid $25 for a "membership" which will be worth it even if I only get a new title (that's a community-building tool, by the way - ensures a unique ID and displays status) and can use the search functionality (that's a community-building tool, too, since searching/archiving allows the community to reference past events ("history"), which is critical in an online context; online communities almost entirely exist in written form).I replaced your asterisks with numbers.Your #1 is clearly a need.Your #2 is not a need, it's an argument supporting #1, it seems.I don't see the need to support a community - I see only the need to support the site, which I suppose implies the need to support the community (one can infer it from that, at least).If #1 were your sole need, the site would truly become crappy because there are more effective ways to generate cash - at least in the short term. I argue, therefore, that one of your unknown other needs is "to foster a community based on the d20 system - its players, publishers, and developers - with a focus on Dungeons & Dragons."Fair enough?I'm looking for the same thing. I'm not looking to tear you or the site down. I need:Ket01 - fast and easy access to news about d20 products.Ket02 - fast and easy access to news about d20 publishers.Ket03 - fast and easy access to news about d20 events.Ket04 - a forum in which I can discuss or observe discussions about d20-related rules, news, or events.Ket05 - recognized status of myself and others within the community (this is a basic need of any community, I'll argue whenever I get the chance).Ket06 - a feeling of ownership of part of the community (again, another basic need of an online community - reference any online MMORPG (guilds, the corrupted "It's OUR World Now" slogan from EQ's early days), or even the "clans" from the FPS community).One can argue that the site provides all of these things, and I would not argue against that. My main point is that the new format inhibits access to these things (though I noticed the links to the upcoming products now link to upcoming products, no longer to reviews of released products).Ket01-04 are stated to be specific to this site's community formation, but any online community needs those same traits as they apply to the subject that interests them. An online dog show community will find news about dog shows more useful than, say, news about the next round of WotC layoffs). <img src="https://cdn.jsdelivr.net/joypixels/assets/8.0/png/unicode/64/1f600.png" class="smilie smilie--emoji" loading="lazy" width="64" height="64" alt=":D" title="Big grin    :D"  data-smilie="8"data-shortname=":D" />So, I've put my money where my mouth is - I registered a few minutes ago. Next, I'll try to pull the news from a few days ago out of the archives and doctor it up so it's easier to extract the information, like I've been arguing could be done. Please keep in mind that since I don't regularly mess with HTML my effort will be sloppy and poorly done compared to what an expert can do.When? Um, heh. I'm already late to something else, so perhaps tonight. Yes, I suck. My whole argument is based on the new format taking too much time to read, so I'll trade some d20 surfing for a chance to illustrate what I'm talking about. (It's ironic, by the way, that you didn't have time for the new-style news and so resorted to the old-style... if time is a concern of yours, too, we should be working toward the same solution, not opposing each other.) <img src="https://cdn.jsdelivr.net/joypixels/assets/8.0/png/unicode/64/1f642.png" class="smilie smilie--emoji" loading="lazy" width="64" height="64" alt=":)" title="Smile    :)"  data-smilie="1"data-shortname=":)" />One last thing - don't take this argument personally after you've literally opened the issue up for discussion. You need to be prepared for criticism in a medium in which you ask for criticism, or don't open it up. If anything, you should be proud that the community cares so much it's willing to argue for what it thinks is best. - KetjakA Monkey God</blockquote>

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