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Old 08-15-2016, 12:57 PM
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Arilou Arilou is offline
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Default Future of the Forum

In the past, I promised that you guys would not have to worry about the forum going down and that I would make sure it was available in one way or another. That could mean moving it to free hosting and permanently archiving it or leaving it available for you guys to continue to use. Well, I’ve decided to leave the choice in your hands via the above poll.

If you decide that it should be archived that means no new posts will be allowed, but you will still be able to visit the forum to see old posts. This is the best option for me since I’m retired and that would mean I no longer have to deal with anything except renewing the domain name.

If you decide that you want the forum to remain active, I believe we’re going to have to go with player mods. You have two options here, though. You can say that you would prefer some actual Wyvern staff members take over, even though I don’t think anyone would do so. Alternatively, you can vote for me to promote player mods.

If we go the player mod route, I was thinking that the best approach would be for me to hand select some people and promote them to basic mod status to start with. They can decide the rules for the forum and enforce them how they like. I would move all the old posts into the archive, that way they can’t be deleted by a mod gone rogue and we’d start fresh. Over time new mods could perhaps be added by some sort of voting system that does not involve me. I was previously thinking of doing that right off, but the best approach to testing a voted mod, in my opinion, is to give them one subforum (like, say, the Off Topic forum only) that they have mod powers in and then to evaluate how they handle things there before giving them broader access (other mods would do the evaluating, not me).

The problem is that I’m not going to be here much longer and things could become very active very quickly so it might be best to just get some full forum mods in that don’t seem so crazy right off. Please weigh in though with what you think. If you want to throw caution to the wind, we can certainly do that. These are just suggestions based on what I think would best for you guys so please, please comment.

To be clear, a mod is someone who can perform basic functions only like soft delete posts (soft delete means other mods can still see them and restore them if they deem they were deleted unfairly) or move them. I am not, at this time, considering promoting players to full admin status. I am very, very wary to do so because that would give them access to private user data like emails and that’s a whole can of worms right there. It was one thing with wizards since they had access to private user data in-game, but even then I only granted full admin status to longtime trusted wizards with a history of being in-game admins. Some wizards aren’t even mods, as is.

There are some functions that an admin is needed for though and, if you guys really want to go this route, I am willing to be available via email to perform some basic tasks at the request of the mod community. If they want a new mod promoted or a new security question added, I can do so. I will NOT, however, be doing any admin work myself or be involved in any admin related decision making. I will simply do what you guys ask me to as quickly as possible and then vanish back into the ether. At some point in the future, a system that does not involve me at all could perhaps be worked out.

As for banishments, the forum has a rarely used infraction system. It’s much like Wyvern’s warning system, wherein you give a user an infraction and if the user gets enough infractions they can be temporarily or permanently banned. I will set proper levels for this and explain how it works. Then regular forum members and mods can use it to temporarily ban or, in extreme cases, permanently ban a problem user.

Do let everyone know about this poll. I will abide by whichever gets more votes (with the latter two options being counted together for keeping the forum active against the archiving option). So this is an opportunity for those who hate the forum and think it exists as a hidden ploy to control you all (or some such nonsense) to get rid of it, in a sense. If that’s your feeling, again, it’s easier for me to archive the forum so do not hesitate to vote in that direction. For those who prefer how threads/posts are organized here versus on Reddit, like the chatbox, or whatever, you can vote to keep it if you like. With more people around there should be room for both Reddit and this forum to get plenty of activity so I recognize that it might be nice for you guys to have options.

I’m also open to adding any additional subforums that you guys might like. In the past I’ve considered adding a “Guides” section for people to post dungeon solution guides, build guides, etc. I’ve also recently considered a “Fogey’s Corner” for people who have an account predating the wide release where they can communication with one another, absent of newer players. We can do those, split the off topic forum into multiple subsections, and do whatever you guys want. So voice your opinion on these and leave suggestions.

I will not be available for the next week or so, but I don’t have a lot of time to get this done in so it would be helpful to me if there was a wide discussion and many responses to the poll by the time I get back. Whatever you guys want to do, I’d like to do it this month, if possible, or shortly thereafter as enacting whatever you guys vote for is more work than I will likely have time for during the fall months. On the other hand, it might not be fair to make a decision without all the old inactive members who might come back when I send out the email alerting them to the game's return and since all 25 Alpha slots are filled in, it's not fair to do that until Beta comes about in two months. So I don't know, maybe we'll put off the transition to winter or I'll have to carve out time in my busy schedule for this in the fall. Just voice your opinion and tell other people to do so as well and I'll figure out my end somehow. Thanks.
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