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Subject: Week in Review! (Late... yeah... yep!)

yoo•zel- ('yoo-zhul): slang: vb.

Officium quod Fidelitas.

Ok… so we’re late, really late, but hey… we all get caught up on stuff right? Well never fear, we’re here to deliver to goods in a cram packed Week in Review… though we’re actually in the second day of the week! We’ve had some major changes this month and incase you missed any of them we’re here to deliver the goods, so dive right in!


Meet the Moderators!

Incase you’ve missed it, or haven’t noticed, Bungie.net has a few new mods running around the place. They’ve been brought in to help manage the growing monster that is Bungie.net. So here’s a little chance to get to know them and find out who they actually are!

So who are these new jerks?

Well our new sandwich makers and pillow fluffers are; Anton P Nym, dmbfan09, GameJunkieJim, Great_Pretender, impurity and VII Toast. After being snatched away from the comfort of their own home, we put them through our rigorous training program then had a little fun at the hotel… As you can see, they are programm… trained to perfection and already working hard to ensure that Bungie.net is safe.

So we had a little mini-interview with each of the new Moderators, so we’ll let loose with the responses!

Great_Pretender:

1.) So how’s it feel being the new kids on the block? Do you feel as though you have any expectations to live up too or is this just a fun experience for you?

It's fun, mainly because I got a cool avatara. Oh wait, uh, no. It's fun because I get to help the community and stuff. Which is what I've been trying to do for the past 8 months I've been here. Basically I'm doing the same thing I have been doing, but instead of "OMFG stop pretending to be a mod you noob, you aren't a great pretender", they're like "STFU u dumb mod -blam!-". That's what really matters.

2.) What were you thinking when you got the notice? Any special reactions? Anyone go in their pants?

I was cool and calm. My vast amounts of lady friends were like "Zomg i <3 u!", and we all played strip poker for... No, but seriously, I was excited.

3.) What are three suggestions for Bungie.net that you would like to see implemented in the future?

Hmm.... I've sat here in thought for about 5 minutes, and I can't think of anything. There isn't much actually wrong with Bungie.net, or anything I can think of that needs improving. Sorry. >_>

dmbfan09:

1.) So how’s it feel being the new kids on the block? Do you feel as though you have any expectations to live up too or is this just a fun experience for you?

It's... fun? I just hope that I can still be seen as a member that enjoys helping everybody.

2.) What were you thinking when you got the notice? Any special reactions? Anyone go in their pants?

I figured Sketch PMed the wrong person. I never aspired to become a moderator, so it was the furthest thing from my mind. I was just happy to be a member of this great community.

3.) What are three suggestions for Bungie.net that you would like to see implemented in the future?

1. The "Karma" System: I think this would be a good way to reward members for being nice to each other. Well, that is how I envision it.
2. The 7th Column Council: It would be great to get a group of well respected Bungie.net members together to shine the spotlight on certain chapters. I see really good things coming out of this.
3. More Bungie Comics and Soapbox entries. Once the Webmaster gets out of the server closet, I wouldn't mind seeing more Letters to the Webmaster either.

impurity:

1.) So how’s it feel being the new kids on the block? Do you feel as though you have any expectations to live up too or is this just a fun experience for you?

I'm not sure if it's the aftereffects of the initiation or the stepping on my own feet coming out the door, but I've still got a few jitters to work out. Luckily, my lack of personal life gives me plenty of time to learn the ropes.

2.) What were you thinking when you got the notice? Any special reactions? Anyone go in their pants?

That work week sucked. It was right after another crappy day and I thought I was hallucinating. Repeated double takes didn't do any good. Once I convinced myself I wasn't seeing things, I stopped talking for two days.

3.) What are three suggestions for Bungie.net that you would like to see implemented in the future?

First, I think the group system and the 7th Column needs to be brought to the main forums attention some way big time. Next it would be nice to see the karma system in place. Finally, I want a feature that makes all Flood regulars actively post in atleast two other forums before they can begin trolling like normal. Kidding. I'm sure I'll make a lot of friends with that last one. =)

Anton P Nym:

1.) So how’s it feel being the new kids on the block? Do you feel as though you have any expectations to live up too or is this just a fun experience for you?

Bewildering. Being a moderator really drives home how BIG bungie.net is, especially now that I poke around all the forums instead of sticking with a few favourites. Sure there are expectations to live up to, because there are a lot of people looking for us to help make their visit here more enjoyable, but that doesn't mean that it isn't fun too.

2.) What were you thinking when you got the notice? Any special reactions? Anyone go in their pants?

I got a big, big grin on my face. It was a huge surprise, and it came up while I was busy getting ready to go to Miguel Chavez's LAN. My Bungie-cup was overflowing that week! So, of course, I wrote a cryptic message in my blog right away and drove all my LJ friends nuts with the mystery. :)

3.) What are three suggestions for Bungie.net that you would like to see implemented in the future?

• more automation for the routine Ninja chores; the spam limiter starts to go down that path, but it'd be nice to automate some of the log work and follow-up stuff we do to make it faster and thus easier to keep up with the pace here. (Sorry, Achronos, for asking to put more on your plate!)
• more recognition for the steadfast members of the community here, though that's probably en route with the karma-whatever system.
• get the Soapbox and Gallery running again!

VII Toast:

1.) So how’s it feel being the new kids on the block? Do you feel as though you have any expectations to live up too or is this just a fun experience for you?

Being new sucks.. but I feel that I have alot to live up to as a moderator, and I should try my best to keep this place in shape.

2.) What were you thinking when you got the notice? Any special reactions? Anyone go in their pants?

I was quite overjoyed when I was asked, I quickly replied "Yes".

Now I can't visit any other website but Bungie.net.. And don't get me started on the 'hazing' process. I still smell like Funyuns and glue.

3.) What are three suggestions for Bungie.net that you would like to see implemented in the future?

I would love to see the karma system take place, so members could get the appreciation that they deserve for helping people and making the community a better place. More upgrades for groups would be nice also, such as a calendar for LAN events. My third suggestion would have to be an automatic banning system. This system would read your mind before you created your account on B.net and tell if you would be an ass or not. If so, then you couldn't join. What a great filter that would be, ah..dreams.


So now we have a little insight to the newer Moderators, except Jim, so if you’re in need of help… pick your favorite and make them work! Moving along we have the long awaited interview from Recon!

Fixed a few paragraph problems while reading it.

[Edited on 9/12/2005 by VII Toast]

  • 09.12.2005 5:26 PM PDT

yoo•zel- ('yoo-zhul): slang: vb.

Officium quod Fidelitas.

1.) So, how do you think this little experiment went? Would you call it a success or a failure, why?

I thought that it was a great success. I've had the questions of "would this work?" and "would this be better?" in my head for a long time. I had created a group to test out just how it would "look" but there is no real way to see how a forum idea will pan out until it's put in front of real people, who really use the forums for their own unique and personal reasons.

The fact that the idea was started and then put back doesn't mean that the idea was bad. I do think that it was only fair to put things back to the more traditional way while the pros and cons were considered. The folks who took the time to honestly comment were the most help and they deserved to have the disruption minimized.

It was great seeing the idea there and hearing that people liked it, but it was also very good to hear that some people didn't like it, especially when they could say exactly what they did or didn't like about it.

One lesson that I learned, but that I didn't get to demonstrate, is that the link to a thread of interest always took a person to page one of the thread. If I were doing it again, I would have that link and second link that took a member to the last post in the thread. It would have solved one of the problems with the test.


2.) Why did you choose to use the Flood forum? Any particular reasons or did you just want to give them some love?

I think that The Flood was the best choice for testing. It's got a very large population of regulars. Those regulars are also a very diverse group of people. Not everyone in The Flood is there for the same reason. It's a busy forum, but with a huge variety of topics, personalities and even rebels. I didn't seem to have any problem getting honesty out of people.

There's always a risk that doing something as a moderator can get "skewed" feedback because people may feel the need to keep negative comments to themselves, are worried that the moderator might "take it personally", or that positive comments would be labeled as ass-kissing. By and large, the population of The Flood isn't burdened by those concerns it seems. No one is deliberately negative just for the sake of it, and many have been around long enough to know that we moderators try to avoid using our egos as a basis for our decisions.

I don't know if they saw it as "love", but I chose The Flood out of respect for the community that they are.


3.) Over all, what were the responses and what do you personally think? Is the idea a keeper or will it float around the forums in some form, such as the fanfic sticky in New Mombasa?

The responses were GREAT! And when I say "great" I don't mean that they were all "go Recon, I love this!" The fact is that some of the most informative responses were "Recon dude, what about people who aren't visiting topics anymore because they have to click, scroll, read, search, click again, and then go to the end of the thread that used to be stickied?"

The days that this test took were an inconvenience to a lot of people. I think by just springing it on them, I was able to get a more honest response. Also, the other ninjas did something (knowingly or unknowingly) that was very wise. I got all of my feedback from ninjas via IM and PM. I think that they were aware that if they were to post in the public feedback thread that it could sway or influence people to alter or even hold their response. I really am grateful to the other moderators for their wise discretion.

As to the idea being a "keeper"... Hmmmm. It was nice to see a forum that I don't have to scroll more than halfway down on page one before I saw the most recent active thread. The lack of clutter seemed to be the most commonly mentioned positive. The most common downside seemed to be that it made it harder to get to those topics of interest.

I would have to break it out like this.

MetaSticky Pros:(please don't ask me to call it a 54)
• Cleaner appearance to the entire forum.
• Fewer stickies increases the "visibility" of the remaining stickies.
• The metasticky allows for long and accurate descriptions and other information to describe, recommend, and add to the link to the thread.

MetaSticky Cons:
• Removes the single-click access to a favorite or high volume thread.
• Can decrease the visibility of a particular thread by making it harder to find
• No guarantee that people are going to visit a metasticky to read it's contents.

Classic Sticky Pros:
• Already in place and works.
• At a glance, a regular to the thread can see that new replies have been added.
• If your thread does get stickied, no one can deny that it's there.

Classic Sticky Cons:
• Cluttered.
• Not enough room to sticky as many threads as we would like or that deserve it.
• Some stickies are there, but only have a small number of participants (ex: some games)
• No guarantee that a classic sticky is going to be visited.
Each system has it's drawbacks and positives. I think that if we were to dictate a "this is the new world order" and force it onto the forums that there would be an outcry and even a backlash. Perhaps things would settle out and peace would return, but I hate revolutions. I like evolution much better, especially since people get to keep their heads in evolution.

In some areas and cases (the fan-fic sticky in New Mombasa for example) it seems like a solution to a known problem. Someone mentioned that the authors should create a group and I can definitely see an advantage to that. A fan-fic group that has the authors as managers, the readers as members and has open enrollment could (in concept) be a remarkable thing if it was properly executed. In the meantime, the metasticky can make the stories easy to find and stops the authors and fans from having to intentionally bump threads to keep them visible.

As far as the global Bungie.Net forums? That's a really good question and I don't think that I could be a person to answer it. I would think that open discussion and a decision by the Bungie.Net guys, or if they defer to the mods, or try it on a forum-by-forum basis. I don't know. To me, a blended solution of 2 metastickies, one with official Bungie-stuff (such as rules, FAQs, and links to other official statements) and the other with ninja-recognized threads and then say no more than 2 or 3 classic stickies that can be stickied for no longer than a month. After that, the classics are rotated off and may be mentioned in the ninja-metasticky. That's just a thought.

The Bungie.Net search feature, when it finally does hit is going to be such a huge change in how people use the forums, at least it has the potential to do that. No one knows until we see it in action, but it could change everything.



4.) What do you think of the name '54-style' dig it, loath it, got a different name for it? Spill it!

Honestly? I am flattered, but embarrassed (and feel a bit guilty) by the name. I definitely didn't come up with the idea. I first recall seeing a metasticky (a term that Shishka used that I happen to like) when Stosh created the one linking to all of the Marathon resources in The Underground. I've also heard that more than a few members have created their own metastickies as indexes for threads and resources that they found useful.

More than anything, I wouldn't want to be thought of as someone who used another person's idea to get recognition for it. Nothing could be further from the truth. One of the things that I have always done (and that I do in my real job) is to try new things and see if they can make positive changes in how things are done. My satisfaction comes from knowing that I didn't force my errors and mistakes to becoming reality and that the solutions are seen as "why didn't we always do this?" when they are tried out.


That about warps it up for the Moderators now for news else where!

  • 09.12.2005 5:27 PM PDT

yoo•zel- ('yoo-zhul): slang: vb.

Officium quod Fidelitas.

Chapter of the Week

Kappin reports to us; “This weeks Chapter of the Week goes to Xbox 360. They have a very active forum, as well as interesting news and custom resources. A great place to discuss the Xbox 360, as well as all Xbox and halo related material. They also have caption contests which results in some hilarious quotes. So if you plan on buying an Xbox 360, or just want to talk about it, I advise you join this group.”

This completes the Week in Review. As always we’ll have more for you next week. So keep on founding those Chapters and be sure to stop by Chapter Founders for all the latest help!

Myth News!
In Myth news, Mazzarin's Demise V has just been released. So for all you Myth II players out there, download it now. It's one of the most exhilarating scenarios available, but for best results, be sure to play with friends online; it's no walk in the park, even on timid. Also, don't forget about the upcoming Myth Tournament. Sign up in the thread, details are there too. As of now, an actual date is unreleased; but it will be on a Saturday in the near future.

Congrats to The 7th War!
A big hand to new Forum Ninjas VII Toast's The 7th War's anniversary. For a year Toast has been working hard to bring oldskool Bungie goodness to all dedicated fans. See details here.

Fight the Flood!

Remember, if you haven’t bought a shirt then go buy one! Because of the recent tragic events on the Gulf Coast of the United States, Bungie has taken it upon themselves to help the relief effort for the devastation effects of Hurricane Katrina. So far over $120,450 dollars has been collected for the Red Cross, so do your part and buy a shirt!

The Spam Filter!

FINALLY! The Spam Filter has arrived to stop spammers and general morons in their tracks! Users are given a limited amount of posts every day, thus when they use their posts they are prompted with a message saying so. Also users can only reply so many times a minute, if a user tries to reply so many times they will be stopped from posting. Though the system has been received well by some, yet there are the some who oppose the spam filter. If you wish to leave input on the current Spam Filter head to the Septagon and comment on one of the several threads that have already been started.


We appoligize for the long wait for the Week in a Review, but things come up. We’re aiming for every week or once every two weeks, but we’ll see how things go. As for it… that is all, if you have any ideas or would like to contribute some how to the Week in Review feel free to send an email to [email]cfounders@gmail.com[/email]

This article brought to you by Chapter Founders , the original hawt spot for help with Chapters and all things concerning them. Come visit us for the most in-depth help you can find anywhere on the 7th Column.



[Edited on 9/12/2005]

  • 09.12.2005 5:28 PM PDT
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Meh, I think being a Mod would be overrated. The only way I would feel special is if Frankie asked me...and I got paid.

As for the second post...The Flood rules.

[Edited on 9/12/2005]

  • 09.12.2005 5:31 PM PDT

It was a cold day near the southern base in Blood Gulch. Cortana and I were relaxing over a game of Go Fish, WHEN OUT OF NO WHERE 700 BANSHEES CAME FLYING IN!!! I GRABED MY SPARTAN LASER AND LET HELL REIGN DOWN UPON THEM. I HOPPED IN THE NEAREST WARTHOG AND TOLD CORTANA TO GET IN.

:P

Awesome. I like impurity's bit about the Council there also. It needs to get going somehow. But I'm also curious as to the general attitude of the notice you all recieved. Was it fun, serious, whatever? Was Sketch very casual and simply said "Wanna be a mod, VII Toast, or GameJunkieJim, or whatever?"

Also, have I just been very... not here, or does anyone else not know what Recon did in the Flood? I have no idea whatsoever, but I was able to gather that he used it for experimintation for this Meta-Sticky idea, which I assume is a sticky that contains link to other threads? I dunno.

[Edited on 9/12/2005]

  • 09.12.2005 5:33 PM PDT

- Mike

Good stuff. Where is GJJ interview?

  • 09.12.2005 5:42 PM PDT
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Even though I'm a bit late, Congrats to the new mods!

May you moderate happily and spill beer down your pants! Remember not to get too ban happy ;)

In response to Halifax, The Flood Rules too.

I wish I can go there more often.

  • 09.12.2005 6:42 PM PDT
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Now that I think of it, I think the Spam Filter is really a great add-on to the website. Yeah, it does get annoying sometimes when I post fast (even though I'm not making too many posts anymore, but just saying), but now, I don't have to worry about spam attacks in my group/other forums. So I think it's really nice.

  • 09.12.2005 6:50 PM PDT
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I love this "Week in Review" thing.


Yay Xbox 360!

  • 09.12.2005 9:07 PM PDT
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That was a good review, I thought it was cool to see what all the new mods thought, and I dropped my laptop when I saw the "training" picture, looks like a good time. =)

[Edited on 9/12/2005]

  • 09.12.2005 9:32 PM PDT

yoo•zel- ('yoo-zhul): slang: vb.

Officium quod Fidelitas.

He never got back to me, and those have been sitting in my inbox for about a week.

  • 09.13.2005 3:56 AM PDT
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This one is better than most reveiws for some reason.

  • 09.13.2005 8:09 PM PDT
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Nobody is better at reviews than Yoozel.

  • 09.14.2005 11:39 PM PDT

It was a cold day near the southern base in Blood Gulch. Cortana and I were relaxing over a game of Go Fish, WHEN OUT OF NO WHERE 700 BANSHEES CAME FLYING IN!!! I GRABED MY SPARTAN LASER AND LET HELL REIGN DOWN UPON THEM. I HOPPED IN THE NEAREST WARTHOG AND TOLD CORTANA TO GET IN.

This isn't the place for group advertisment. I can see why you posted that though. Still, advertisments belong in the Classifieds as your well aware.

  • 09.15.2005 6:28 PM PDT

ok, i've already posted a response to everything here, but for whatever reason, it didn't stick. anyways, here it goes again...


i think that making a fanfic forum(like the septagon or new mombasa) may be a good idea, but it also has its downsides. for instance, most people stick with one forum that they always go to. i know this to be true because most people i see do that, myself included for the most part. when i first joined bungie.net, i was always in the underground until my fanfic thread got moved to new mombasa, then i only hung around there.

bearing all that in mind, if most people like to stay in one group and not leave it, then why would any random user want to go check out the fanfic forum? although they are very visually appealling, it is very time consuming and out of the way for many users. i think that's why those of us who have been posting our fanfics in new mombasa have been getting such a large fanbase: because there are alot of people there, and even though they might not start of reading the fanfic, if it sticks out, they'll eventually look at it and give it a chance. for the most part, they like it.

if a fanfic forum is made, then it kills that whole 'oh, let me go check it out...its been there forever' experience, to some level.

of course, there is really very little that can be done to make those of us in the fanfic bungie community stick out. there have been hundreds of groups, countless threads that have been lost and that have stuck around forever, but there really isn't a perfect solution. the best thing i can offer is this group...the official fanfic group.

obviously, a group cannot do all the same things that a forum can, but a group attracts more attention in a different manner, allowing people to feel like they're more a part of something than on the normal forums. and that is something that is necessary with people who are looking for responses on their works, so in some sense, it has a potential to work better. if implemented correctly, i might add.

so, as of last week, i took the liberty to make this official fanfic group in hopes of fixing this current problem we've been having. truthfully, the fanfic index hasn't helped much because most people don't want to have to look through the index to find a person's story, they want to see it on the front page. hell, i know that if i'm looking for my own thread, i never use that index. i always just go through pages if i don't see it right away. sure, it bundles it up all nice and sweet, but doesn't carry the same thing that actually looking and finding it does. if there was a way to show the same thing we see at the front page of any forum(ie. each thread, the number of posts, the last user to post, etc) in the index, then there would be no problem with it. but we don't have that.

so, at the moment, i believe the actual group to be the best solution, at least for the time being. maybe in time, making a forum for it on its own will be fine and draw the same or more attention, but for now, the group works better. therefore, all i can say is that we've grown quite well, getting about 90 people in just under a weeks time. that's awesome. but we need more. and with groups ranging in the thousands, its kind of sad that this group is so small. there are so many authors there posting their stories, and we don't have enough people reading them. the only thing i can say is that we just need more people. hell, the group has posted stuff about us everywhere: classifieds, groups, fanfic threads, everywhere. some are even pm'ing people directly.

we should be bigger, and if we get there soon enough, then it may solve the fanfic problem altogether. so consider it. hell, even great_pretender has joined in, although i think i'm the only person who has read the fanfic he posted. (means mod's are more than welcome...)

EDIT: actually, i just realized that great_pretender isn't a member...he was, then left. so don't anyone think i was messing with you.

[Edited on 9/16/2005]

  • 09.15.2005 8:49 PM PDT
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Great review very amusing. I like the spam filter it helps us out alot compare to none. I never even had a problem with it. thats maybe because i have dial up:c

  • 09.16.2005 3:55 AM PDT

"I pledge to punch all switches, to never shoot where I could use grenades, to admit the existence of no level except Total Carnage, to never use caps lock as my "run" key, and to never, ever, leave a single BoB alive."

2B || !2B - Why don't you look Inside the Machine?

Am I supposed to read all of that?

  • 09.16.2005 2:05 PM PDT
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This was a good review. Thanks Yoozel. I loved that initiation pic. :)

About the Fanfic group. It is a good idea. But, for some reason, few are joining. I'd guess that abot 85% of our members are authors. That's not right. No ones fans are joining. I think the main thing is we need more publicity. Hopefully that spot Recon promised us will come soon.

  • 09.16.2005 2:06 PM PDT

yoo•zel- ('yoo-zhul): slang: vb.

Officium quod Fidelitas.

It's taking up space and there's not to much interest, so off to goes to free up some space.

  • 09.16.2005 2:27 PM PDT

no, actually about a fourth of the people in that group are authors. the rest are fans and people helping us out. we're growing, and pretty fast...it just takes time. i just want to hear another opinnion on it.

  • 09.16.2005 2:39 PM PDT

- Mike

Posted by: Yoozel
It's taking up space and there's not to much interest, so off to goes to free up some space.

I think there needs to be a Front page news story with a link to the thread. Then it will get attention and probably more popular.

  • 09.16.2005 10:42 PM PDT
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Well I have to say that was teh best so far.

  • 09.17.2005 3:49 AM PDT
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Wow, best Week In Review yet. If only it were actually a weekly thing 'eh yoozel?

:)

  • 09.17.2005 5:01 AM PDT

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