Mission: Bring LF Back to Life

[Q]

For reference:

 

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hare_Psychopathy_Checklist

 

Factor 1: Interpersonal/Affective

 

Glibness/superficial charm

Grandiose sense of self-worth

Pathological lying

Cunning/manipulative

Lack of remorse or guilt

Shallow affect (genuine emotion is short-lived and egocentric)

Callousness; lack of empathy

Failure to accept responsibility for his or her own actions

 

 

Factor One is the really all that can be observed on the internet, but when a person shows the symptoms of Factor One in spades, it's a pretty safe bet that they're a sociopath.

 

Ruh-roh! SCIENCE!

[jonathan7]

Psychology was what I studied at university...

[JesusIsGonnaOwnSatan]

Joined one or two very active/huge forums; was turned off by the impersonality of it all. LF's low member base may be an overall detrimental artifact, but it also gives the forum a unique charm - like a bar in a a small town.

 

The place may be winding down, but here's to those of us that still here.

 

So yeah. Lurkan like a dianoga - been in this trash compactor for years; have no plans on leaving.

 

 

Worry not...once new games start popping up with the Star Wars license, this place will be back and kickin'.

 

I also don't come on as often as I used to, but I still pop in regularly, even if I don't post.

 

Honestly, with the future of Star Wars looking brighter, I expect that when newer games come out things will pick up.

 

Once a new one comes out people will be back. They always come back.

 

I think once the new games and movies start coming out we'll see some renewed interest. I would definitely like to do more LFN projects and have something to be excited about.

 

I'm not so sure. Since the advent of web 2.0, businesses have been obsessed with the concept of social media, and proprietary forums are a part of that. You'll see it happening in the last 5 or so years, especially. Game studios in particular, have cottoned on to the value-add potential of product-centered communities (no doubt, by observing/studying the effects of fan-forums such as ours in its heyday), and are looking to harness that power with greater control. Hence, self made forums.

 

Managing the forums themselves allows for greater brand image/voice control, as well as possible damage control, with the ability to censor perceived detrimental content.

 

The thing with proprietary forums is that they're usually marketed along with the game, with all the resources and formal expenditure associated with standard game marketing. This makes the presence of those forums drown out that of other unofficial/fan made ones (and thus, help secure aforementioned brand control). Exhibit A: SWTOR.com/forum vs LFN TOR forum.

 

 

Given the last half-decade or so's relevant track record, i think it's reasonable to assume that any new Star Wars games that get made will get their own officially made, and marketed forums, and thus, will reduce the hypothetical 'explosion' of LFN member influx to more of a 'trickle'.

 

 

stuff

 

>_________>

[mimartin]

@Q I got better.

 

(This BBCode requires its accompanying plugin to work properly.)

 

[Jeff]

I'm not so sure. Since the advent of web 2.0, businesses have been obsessed with the concept of social media, and proprietary forums are a part of that. You'll see it happening in the last 5 or so years, especially. Game studios in particular, have cottoned on to the value-add potential of product-centered communities (no doubt, by observing/studying the effects of fan-forums such as ours in its heyday), and are looking to harness that power with greater control. Hence, self made forums.

 

Managing the forums themselves allows for greater brand image/voice control, as well as possible damage control, with the ability to censor perceived detrimental content.

 

The thing with proprietary forums is that they're usually marketed along with the game, with all the resources and formal expenditure associated with standard game marketing. This makes the presence of those forums drown out that of other unofficial/fan made ones (and thus, help secure aforementioned brand control). Exhibit A: SWTOR.com/forum vs LFN TOR forum.

 

 

Given the last half-decade or so's relevant track record, i think it's reasonable to assume that any new Star Wars games that get made will get their own officially made, and marketed forums, and thus, will reduce the hypothetical 'explosion' of LFN member influx to more of a 'trickle'.

Definitely true, shown by how huge the official SWTOR forums are. But we are still one of the largest Star Wars fan forums in terms of total members and posts, even if it's not as active as it used to be. New games and movies should be able to get some old members to come back as well as new ones, just not as many as official forums.

[Lynk Former]

@ Q: Yeeessss, yeeeeeeeesss, use your aggressive feelings, boy! Let the butthurt flow through you!

 

 

Whatever did happen is the past is in the past and unless you're refering to myself, and I can't see how, you and I have never clashed, so I'm pretty sure you're not... you're here, they're not. So you can either dwell in a pool of bitterness and let the butthurt flow through you, as Palpy would love for you to do... or perhaps we can keep a little optimism here and maybe look toward the future.

 

 

 

Jeff's brought up a good point. Just because LucasArts is dead, that doesn't mean that everything is over. There are new movies coming out and new games too. The death of LA may end up being the thing that saves us in the long run since... well, LA wasn't really doing much of anything in the past.

 

I'm hoping to whatever I can to bring this place back to life and get some fresh faces into the forums. I have a few ideas and designs floating around here (the SWK redesign I posted about a while back was just one of the things I've worked on that I haven't shown the members) and we do have ideas for the future to get this place back on track (provided we can find the time to implement them).

 

The things we lack to make it happen is time and manpower... though at this stage, I think most people are simply waiting for me to come up with something before they commit to anything... so I guess I'll try to have something to show in the next few months (I hope)... here's hoping.

 

 

It probably wouldn't hurt to have member feedback as well. Pretty much everyone left here has been around for quite a long time and I'm sure most of you want to see this place go on, so feedback and suggestions are always welcome.

 

Maybe we can pool together our collective intelligence and come up with something great. Instead of lamenting times that have been and how great this place used to be, it's a much better idea to actually come up with ideas we can use to rebuild this place into something better than it is and was.

 

So, lay them on me... suggestions, feedback, ideas, whatever... how can we ensure LFN stays around for another 15 years or so and is better than it ever was in the past?

[milestails]

I joined this community after the heyday of KotOR modding, but I still come here every day to check up on the exciting new projects which seem to pop up every week.

[Prime]

Something that is heartwarming to me is that everytime one of the LF is dead or dying threads comes up, a bunch of my old friends come out of the shadows.

[Pho3nix]

@Lynk yeah I really have no idea what the hell that Skype thing was about, I just observed everything from the shadows when it all unfolded . It just seemed to me that there was this circle jerk going on - so when a few of those users left, it started a bit of a domino effect.

 

No matter now though, It's in the past.

[Lynk Former]

There was no circle jerk, more like a few grumpy and very paranoid users and then Astro with his own agenda fanning the flames... you remember Astro, right?

 

It was forum politics at its worst where various people felt a sense of entitlement, that this place belonged to them in such a way that whatever they said should become law and that their views overrode those of the moderation team... and that the moderation team should not have a social life or form relationships with the members at all (since we're obviously robots, the lot of us... or should be).

 

As for the users who left... hah, so what, 2-3 people left? That whole thing with Skype was nothing compared to what this forum actually HAS been through. I've personally banned a group of 10 people who were involved in a much larger incident years before that one which was a much more insane **** storm.

 

There was no domino effect involved with that "incident" at all. As I keep saying, the big issue this place has faced involves LucasArts and its downfall more than anything else. Attrition is the bigger issue and none of the balls crazy stuff (and a lot of stuff has happened in LF over all these longs years, trust me) that has happened around here haven't really done anything to its place aside from chipping away a couple of members at the time who were replaced anyway by people who ended up staying for a lot longer than the ones who left.

 

The REAL issue in all of this is holding the users who leave for lack of overall interest, not the ones who get butthurt for whatever reason and ragequit.

 

 

 

 

I'm being blunt about this cause whatever issue this place has had gets overblown as if it's some special feature film event. It's a forum, with people, and people sometimes don't get along, it happens.

[purifier]

For reference:

 

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hare_Psychopathy_Checklist

 

Factor 1: Interpersonal/Affective

 

Glibness/superficial charm

Grandiose sense of self-worth

Pathological lying

Cunning/manipulative

Lack of remorse or guilt

Shallow affect (genuine emotion is short-lived and egocentric)

Callousness; lack of empathy

Failure to accept responsibility for his or her own actions

 

 

Factor One is the really all that can be observed on the internet, but when a person shows the symptoms of Factor One in spades, it's a pretty safe bet that they're a sociopath.

 

Ruh-roh! SCIENCE!

 

Ooh! Ooh! I know this one! I got this.........

 

Who is Walter White?

 

"We’re done when I say we’re done." – Walter White

 

 

 

(Sorry, couldn't resist. )

 

 

 

Anyway, back on topic. As far as LF is concerned, I've never stopped lurking and occasionally posting here. I don't see LF slowly dying off. I think it's just a slow period. Kind of like the economy. So things are bound to pick up and old members will eventually start posting again. New members as well.

 

 

 

My two cents.....

[Tommycat]

Not sure about the whole Skype thing, I remember a few people wanting me to join them in quitting the forum. I remember giggling to myself about it, and moving on(like I'm one to just give up). Then life took hold, and I quit posting regularly. Just a random drop in every once in a while. If there wasn't anything interesting going on I just moved along. I generally spend more time on automotive forums, talking about automotive stuff. I enjoy figuring out people's car issues.

[Qui-Gon Glenn]

Interesting thread, alarmist I think. As soon as a new game comes out, I know I will return to these forums more often and maybe even get into the classics again. Seeing as how jonathan7 just released a mod we last worked on over two years ago, and with Darth Mouse holding the cheese maybe we will be reinvigorated.

 

I will say that I, over time, became very frustrated and alienated over moderation of Kavar's. This was before mimi took over in there.

 

As Q mentioned, twas all primarily one loud pedantic bully pulpit-eer.

[Lynk Former]

I'll be perfectly honest. Kavar's shouldn't exist in a video game forum. It's completely inappropriate for a video game forum to have a place dedicated to politics and such. We're all fine and well when we talk and argue about video games, no one takes it personally and whatever arguments are had are forgotten pretty quickly.

 

Many problems faced in recent years has had its starting point in Kavar's due to certain members and moderators clashing when they find out things about each other that they don't agree with or rubs their values the wrong way. That place is the cancer of LF and should be shut down... and perhaps in the future it will be, I'll definitely make sure to that.

 

But with that said, one of the reasons it's still alive right now is because it's one of the few active places we have left, and I voted to keep it around for that reason after certain incidents occurred back-to-back that had the admin team ask "should we kill Kavar's?"

 

Politics has no place in a forum about video games... and if LF was a healthy forum, it wouldn't exist in this place.

[mimartin]

I will give the solution I stole from Lynk "Kick it." that fixes everything.

[Lynk Former]

*kicks it out of LF*

[Canderis]

I don't enter kavar's often but I have on the rare occasion I needed advice that the limited perspective of the people I know in real life couldn't give me. The people of this forum have been almost like a family to me and its one of the few places on the Internet I trust to at least try and help. Even though Im not active there I would be saddened to see it close down.

If I ever caused a big issue with it-I know one of my threads had been quite controversial- I apologize.

[Sith Sizzle]

I've checked out Kavar's Corner a few times and have seen a few threads that I wanted to voice my opinion on, but I always decide not to. It would end up in an argument or a never ending debate, not to mention some people will forever judge you on this forum because of your beliefs. I feel it's better to just discuss KOTOR, other games, and more easy going topics. Everyone gets along that way and any disagreement is minor and doesn't continue on into the future.

[The Doctor]

Ugh. Kavar's. I never mean to post, but sometimes I just can't help it.

[purifier]

I never understood the specific reason for having two serious topic subforums within the whole LF network. You got the Senate Chambers over in the JediKnight forums and Kavar's in the KoTOR forum. Although I heard it had something to do with the level of nastiness that goes on in these two subforums. One was supposedly better than the other one at not being so intense (Kavar's), but I never really noticed the difference to tell anybody the truth. Seems like the behavior in Kavar's was just as bad.

 

 

One is enough if you ask me. Preferably the Senate Chambers if there has to be at least one subforum for serious topics. I think Kavar's does need to go or be kicked, which ever is the preferred method. But then comes the question of what you would do with all of the remaining threads in Kavar's, including the ones that are currently active - move them over into the Senate Chambers, I guess?

 

I don't know, not sure how this website does things.

[Lynk Former]

The reason we have different sections in LF, such as different general/off-topic forum sections is because each section was home to a particular web site forum. Back before 2001, before LucasForums was created, all of the individual video game forums had their own separate forums under their own domains. Inside these separate forums, there were different members and communities. I originally started off as a member of the RogueSquadron.net forum, that's where my forum account existed before the big merger into LucasForums.

 

That's ultimately the reason why LF is so split up with different community bases and such.

 

That model is old and outdated and holds no meaning for us any more. I think it's really part of what's holding this place back... it's huge, has lots of different sections, all of which are empty of any kind of activity.

 

If this place is to move forward, we need to be more focused in our approach and consolidate things down to a much easier to manage structure so that people don't get lost in all of these really ancient foundations where no one really goes any more.

[purifier]

Hey I just thought of something...maybe we all should have a debate about this in Kavar's.

 

 

@Lynk: I see, yeah that was way before my time here and I agree with the ideal of consolidation. That would make it much easier to navigate through the forums. Good idea.

[JesusIsGonnaOwnSatan]

Jeff's brought up a good point. Just because LucasArts is dead, that doesn't mean that everything is over. There are new movies coming out and new games too. The death of LA may end up being the thing that saves us in the long run since... well, LA wasn't really doing much of anything in the past.

 

I'm hoping to whatever I can to bring this place back to life and get some fresh faces into the forums. I have a few ideas and designs floating around here (the SWK redesign I posted about a while back was just one of the things I've worked on that I haven't shown the members) and we do have ideas for the future to get this place back on track (provided we can find the time to implement them).

 

The things we lack to make it happen is time and manpower... though at this stage, I think most people are simply waiting for me to come up with something before they commit to anything... so I guess I'll try to have something to show in the next few months (I hope)... here's hoping.

 

 

It probably wouldn't hurt to have member feedback as well. Pretty much everyone left here has been around for quite a long time and I'm sure most of you want to see this place go on, so feedback and suggestions are always welcome.

 

Maybe we can pool together our collective intelligence and come up with something great. Instead of lamenting times that have been and how great this place used to be, it's a much better idea to actually come up with ideas we can use to rebuild this place into something better than it is and was.

 

So, lay them on me... suggestions, feedback, ideas, whatever... how can we ensure LFN stays around for another 15 years or so and is better than it ever was in the past?

 

Have been thinking about this.

 

By my observation, most of the remaining member base employs lurking as their primary function, ostensibly because of lack of activity. An obvious solution is to simply encourage everyone to post more threads - but, about what? If you think about posting in threads, the reason people post is usually relatablilty of topics, due to shared/common experience, or interest. Most topics in the last few years have been hit-and-miss in this regard, most likely due to the fact that as time has passed, the member base has grown apart in life experience, going different ways, doing different things.

 

The solution seems to me to be something that would bring everyone back together -to give shared experience; be at center of common interest; something that everyone can have a good time talk about.

 

Well, how about the game(s) that brought us here in the first place?

 

We're in the SWK forum. How long has it been since everyone played KotOR? For me, its a few months, but was years, before that.

 

Imagine this: we take an upcoming time period, eg a month, and we name it "KotOR month": a time were everyone is encouraged to dust off, reinstall, and play the grand old game - together (in the same general time period). From there, everyone's encouraged to make threads/posts about the shared experience. Threads on builds, thoughts from playing the game after so long, comparisons of first time playthroughs to current ones.

 

On analysis, shared experience is the main factor involved in forum activity/growth. It's why currently popular forums are so, and what made LF alive and well in its day. It happens naturally with video game forums because of public game releases, but what if it was artificially simulated via special event?

 

Because of our low numbers of regulars, this would only work here if enough people agreed to join in ("sign up", as it were).

 

Such a thing wouldn't be designed to bring more members in/make the forum grow, but rather stimulate more activity from the existing base. It's not a final solution, but I think would be a good start to getting the forum going again.

 

Thoughts/opinions?

[Qui-Gon Glenn]

Interestingly, I found and still find Kavar's to be an integral part of what I thought made LFN so awesome back in the day: this was an actual, vibrant, community. There were multiple games to talk about and troubleshoot and mod that were at their height or at least still relevant and played. There were sections for off-topic, and even serious places like Kavar's. Diversity is wonderful, and although I understand the difficulty of moderation there it is part of the whole.

 

Just my 2c, I would still bang around in here without Grumpy Place.

[Al_Ciao]

I still lurk about here, even though I'm not a veteran member to begin with. I generally come back here when I'm doing replays of a Star Wars game, typically KotOR 1/2 or (currently) SWTOR. I'd probably post on the official SWTOR forum if I didn't for some reason get a message that I'm not allowed to make new threads or write posts o_O Maybe you can only do that if you're a sub or something?

 

But there is still life to this place, as has been said. Mostly lurkers, though, or people who, like me, drift back when they're gaming Star Wars style.