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Thread: [TrekRPGNet] Your input requested

  1. #46
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    I don't know how well this will go over, but another possibility is that the reburbished site could have a "free-fire" zone for the paying members. Political discussions and other sensitive matters could be addressed there, with moderator overview only to make sure that certain individuals aren't going to post threatening messages such as "That's it - I know where you live and I'm hunting you down like the ill-informed dog you are," or the like.

    I'm not too sure what the policy for this kind of thing is on other pay-for-use sites, so I don't know whether this kind of thing has been tried before and succeeded/failed or whatever.

    Again, just an idea.

  2. #47
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    I thgink I'd err on the side of Dan's original ban on political threads, because unfortunatelly several people have already demonstrated why that would be a very bad idea all round!

    If we have to have a heated debate about something, I would rather it was about something unimportant, like Startrek, as people seem to have an unnering propensity to be offended by the merest things, when it comes to cultural, religious or political things!
    Ta Muchly

  3. #48
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    Actually, paying member or not, I'd support the creation of a new forum on these boards that was just for the political and other hot topic stuff that some people enjoy. I'd want it to be a separate forum so that I could still enjoy browsing General.

    Make it something like the Neutral Zone forum on the trekbbs. That way you crazy people can go have fun in your forum, and those of us that don't care can have fun in ours.

  4. #49
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    We need some place to trade and exchange ideas. Although these forums have changed greatly over the last few years I still come here on average twice a day, and I still find ICON material here to use. And on occasion I myself post some material for others to use. . .without this site for the exchange of such ideas and material I would wonder about how much longer I would keep my gaming interest going.

    I rely on those here in a very big way to not only provide material for game use, but call on their knowledge and experience in gaming. . .something I have not found anywhere else.

    I have to admit I could not afford much more than one or two dollars a month (please consider PayPal as it would be the only form of payment I could make!).

    I will be here as I have been in the past. . .not only out of desire, but also out of necessity.
    Steven "redwood973" Wood

    "Man does not fail. He gives up trying."

  5. #50
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    Originally posted by StyroFoam Man
    We killed our fanbase with the over-the-top political discussion. As a band-aid we kill all such discussions now. ICON is no longer supported here. Anytime someone posts an idea for somthing different than "mainstream canon" Trek they get basted.
    Since you brought it up, I'd like some examples please. Current would be helpful, but really anything to support this supposition.

    Two threads were recently closed, one because several people found it offensive, a second at the thread starters request. I don't consider that "kill[ing] all discussions." I really, really want you to support this claim because I feel its unmerited. I've been considering lifting the political ban, BTW.

    As for Phantom, we've covered this free speech line a couple of times. Supporting the site through financial means via a membership (or whatnot) wouldn't convey special posting privileges. Pay or not to pay, your passive-aggressive modality of taking shots at people isn't ever going to be acceptable.

    Actually, it isn't tolerated at AEG's or Mongoose's sites either.

    Thanks for the input.
    Mass Effect Fate RPG | "Mass Effect meets Fate meets awesome = FREE"
    Contributor, Gnome Stew
    "In every revolution, there's one man with a pizza."
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  6. #51
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    Originally posted by StyroFoam Man
    We killed our fanbase with the over-the-top political discussion.
    I would have thought it would have been the two six-month blackouts of no new product.

    I would have thought it might have been the nearly lack of *any* meaningful support from the company, sans the efforts of the NetRep.

    Perhaps the lack of any new submissions being accepted, or placed online by this site, for well over a year?

    Maybe the transfer of Icon-related material to another web site?

    Cynics might of cited the poor ratings of "Enterprise" or the nearly universal panning of "Nemesis" as lack of interest in the property as a reason for why fan interest has fallen.

    But, no, I was wrong; the real reason fan support for the Star Trek RPGs is lacking is because we banned political discussions on this forum.



    Sorry, Styro. This isn't intended as an attack or even a slam, but I just find your statement so far out there that I can't grasp it. Seriously. I can not fathom how you believe the closure of political threads, on the General board mind you, is somehow responsible.

    Even the Icon comment has me puzzled; they've got their own board for discussions separate from Coda discussions. Is there some anti-Icon movement by the Coda fans that I'm not aware of? Is this a perception issue? In all honesty, if there really is a problem (hence my asking for some citations) I'd like to see it, if nothing else to put an end to it.

    How would you fix it? (Seriously! Anyone, tell me how to fix it.)
    Mass Effect Fate RPG | "Mass Effect meets Fate meets awesome = FREE"
    Contributor, Gnome Stew
    "In every revolution, there's one man with a pizza."
    Star Trek (TOS) "Pizza, Pizza" (Second season), story by D.S.McBride

  7. #52
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  8. #53
    The only reason I use this site is for the two LOTR RPG boards; they are infinitely better than the poor forum provided by Decipher. It is a low volume board and days often go by without any posts. But they are all good posts and I am willing to pay a few £ each month to be a member/registered supporter/whatever. But I can afford to pay; there are many people who can't. It is a bit of a conumdrum really for the board owner and I can see the arguments both for and against charging for content. Good luck with whatever you decide to do in the future with this site - I am glad the decision is not mine!
    www.unfinishedtales.net

    'Some who have read the book, or at any rate have reviewed it, have found it boring, absurd, or contemptible; and I have no cause to complain, since I have similar opinions of their works' JRR Tolkien

  9. #54
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    Originally posted by StyroFoam Man
    Another problem is lack of new content to discuss. That we can't fix until new products come out.

    We could generate content ourselves but sadly we're stuck in a "wait and whine" mode. Mactavish seems to be the only one activly producing anything outside of the starship forums.
    Ultimately, I think it's up to the membership to be active and creative. For both the LOTR RPG and the Trek RPG, we have all the tools we need to create anything we want for the games. The Core book for LOTR and the PG and NG for Trek pretty well lay out the basics of the system.

    Enterprising fans have and will continue to create fresh new material for both games. I haven't had a lot to do with the Trek game lately, since I'm neither running nor playing it, but I've had a lot to do with the LOTR game, and I'm still producing stuff for it.

    If folks are stuck on waiting for the 'official' stuff, that's fine, but there's no reason fans can't create material as good as if not better than the stuff Decipher might have come up with had the lines kept going full speed ahead.

    Basically, I think it's up to us players and posters to make up new material and keep the games alive. Create new material and post it to the site; I'm sure a conversation will grow from that.

    Come up with a fanmade webbook project. I've seen some of those in the past come along and develop into something good. A lot of times they fall by the wayside, but I know there are some very creative people here, and I imagine if the fans want something badly enough, they can create it.

  10. #55
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    Originally posted by StyroFoam Man
    Well, I've said my piece. Maybe you can find somthing usefull in the above rant.
    Yes, thank you.
    I wouldn't pay for access to these forums just to read "no new products/enterprise sucks ass" every day.
    Okay, this begs the question then...what would you pay for?

    I agree, I wouldn't pay to hear people whining about ENT all day long either. But the point of this thread, if you've read from the beginning, is to find a way to have the site self-sufficient.

    Both you and Phantom seemed to have missed the bit about you don't have to pay; the site (if it continued) would continue to be free. Supporting the site via a membership format would be entirely optional.

    So, with that said, what would one have to offer to get you to pony up to support this site, keep in running, upgrade the software, and keep the infrastructure up to date?
    Mass Effect Fate RPG | "Mass Effect meets Fate meets awesome = FREE"
    Contributor, Gnome Stew
    "In every revolution, there's one man with a pizza."
    Star Trek (TOS) "Pizza, Pizza" (Second season), story by D.S.McBride

  11. #56
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    Hmmm... What would I want if I paid for it?

    Off the top of my head.

    1] Content: PDFs, NPCs, Graphics, etc... The kind of stuff that will probably get you in loads of trouble over copyright violations.

    2] Members Form: I know you said you didn't want to harbour an "us vs them" mentality, but it owuld be nice if the paying members had a palce to chat about things too. You know, make us feel a bit special <- This goes totally to ego BTW

    3] Updates: I mean that in the material that we get would be constantly updated. We already get 6 month laspes from Decipher, I would hate to see them here.

    4] Contests: Maybe if there were 4 contests a year for some prizes that the members could particiapte in? I have no idea what they would be, but it just struck me as something.

    Beyond that nothing more is coming to me right now. I hope some of this is worthwhile for you.

  12. #57
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    I suspect the real reason that allot of the members are chewing each other out at the moment, in one form or another, is simply, as several have pointed out, a lack of anything being generated both within the context of the show/films, and the game/s it's self.

    By and large, the LOTR hysteria is going to dwindle to acceptable levels again, and much like Startrek, while there is always going to be a core fanbase, the bulk are going to slowly drift away.

    Which leaves a lack of creative input all round.

    I think, now that I've been using the boards for a while, that I would be willing to put forward a small charge, to keep Don in the black, but it would come down to content / price ratio, and that's going to be something that's a hard ballance to find, because it's probably not going to add up to a whole lot of funds!
    Ta Muchly

  13. #58
    Hi Don,

    Without a more directed (i.e., more hands-on) approach, I doubt you could manage to draw subscriptions from more than roughly 5% of the frequent site visitors. Pyramid only charges $20 a year, gives access to pre-publication materials for playtest, pays its writers, and generates a wealth of articles, columns and news on a weekly basis. This would require TrekRPG becoming more of a web 'zine than a message board, and somehow I doubt you have sufficient free time to take on the added role of Editor-in-Chief.

    I would personally rather see a "donate what you can" approach to a fixed "subscription cost", mainly because that gives even the least well-off among us incentive to contribute monetarily. You might confer with the webmasters of various "free but we accept donations" game-oriented websites to determine which "perks" have proven most effective in encouraging the financial support of their regulars. I know The Forge has such a program in place, but have no idea how much financial support it has generated.

    Of the 2,167 members of these boards, a quick advanced member search reveals that over 1,100 have either a) never posted at all or b) last posted before January 1st, 2002. That more than halves your base of potential donation contributors. It might be worth your while to email people who have not posted recently (or at all) to reconfirm their memberships, just so you can "clean house" and have a better sense of your current membership.
    “In our every deliberation, we must consider the impact of our decisions on the next seven generations.”

    -- Great Law of the Iroquois Confederacy

  14. #59
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  15. #60
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    Originally posted by Don Mappin

    Both you and Phantom seemed to have missed the bit about you don't have to pay; the site (if it continued) would continue to be free. Supporting the site via a membership format would be entirely optional.

    Uhm, I don't think I have missed the point. The way I see it is a pay per view site (obviously) caters to those who have paid the membership dues. What is the incentive of those of us who didn't pay to come by here?

    Those who agree with the pay program have said they would want PDFs, adventures, updates, etc on the member part of the forum. What would we get out of it? A nice brisk time watching paint dry?

    I'm not trying to be argumentative here, I just don't see how a pay per shot program would be equitable. Also, I agree Don has the right to do whatever he wishes, it is his coin after all, I'm just saying to be careful in case some people walk.

    And what is wrong with discussing political situations? Sure things get a little warm, that just shows some of us have passion for certain ideas. Dabate is good, if you are too thin skinned to take it then stay away. Just my opinion.
    Last edited by Phantom; 03-02-2004 at 03:28 AM.

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