Thing to add
Better integration and interactivity on the site. A lot of things could be automated, given enough time and effort -- which would also remove the need for so many people to be working on stuff that isn't grading (no shade). A news ticker is one great addition with low input costs. It could display the latest game results (or if a game is ongoing, a link to the stream or whatever), league announcements, major signings etc. A twitter widget to further integrate the growing NSFL twittersphere with the site for those who don't do twitter. A system that allows users to update with minimal effort (and provides a simpler audit path if mistakes are made). A stats engine on hand to crank out information from the sim to anyone who would want it, rather than just those of us with the time and knowledge to dig it up. Various things could improve this site if we took the time to develop them... which leads me to my "thing to remove".
Thing to remove
Jcink. Sure it's a great free host, and I'm not knocking it... but if you want to take this league to the next level you need to own the hosting space it's on. You need to have server level permissions to create scripts and such that would integrate with the forum. This would cost, true (though realistically it's cheap as fuck for what you'd actually need) but would keep everything in one place. That way we're not scrambling to catalog links, and keep track of multiple locations. It's all there, on one server. I think if we're serious about building something long-lasting and great here, you are going to need to cut away from the shackles of free hosting. Yes, SHL still uses free hosting, but have you seen how much of a sprawling mess that place is? There's too much going on for it to be truly welcoming to newcomers. It's confusing. It's not inviting. Then there's the issue of the player builder accidentally getting buggered recently. On a single server, a rollback to fix that is painfully simple. I could go on, but then I'm talking more about what we could add again. Heh.
Thing I like
The way Head Office is being run at the moment. Head Office is acting more proactively than in the past, I think. Which is a major improvement. There are a lot of things that could have been avoided if there had been more willingness to take action before things become problems. The communication with the user base and efforts being taken to promote transparency and keep everyone in the loop are things that should have been happening from the beginning, imo. Better late than never, though. I don't have the time for head office, so I appreciate that it's hard work and thankless. I do. But some of the issues here so far (and we're in what? season five?) could probably have been avoided if there had been more open discourse between administration and members. You need that on ANY sizeable online community (trust me, I admin'd a large forum before. It was rough) otherwise trust disappears and members become disillusions and quit (which we've seen here too).
Better integration and interactivity on the site. A lot of things could be automated, given enough time and effort -- which would also remove the need for so many people to be working on stuff that isn't grading (no shade). A news ticker is one great addition with low input costs. It could display the latest game results (or if a game is ongoing, a link to the stream or whatever), league announcements, major signings etc. A twitter widget to further integrate the growing NSFL twittersphere with the site for those who don't do twitter. A system that allows users to update with minimal effort (and provides a simpler audit path if mistakes are made). A stats engine on hand to crank out information from the sim to anyone who would want it, rather than just those of us with the time and knowledge to dig it up. Various things could improve this site if we took the time to develop them... which leads me to my "thing to remove".
Thing to remove
Jcink. Sure it's a great free host, and I'm not knocking it... but if you want to take this league to the next level you need to own the hosting space it's on. You need to have server level permissions to create scripts and such that would integrate with the forum. This would cost, true (though realistically it's cheap as fuck for what you'd actually need) but would keep everything in one place. That way we're not scrambling to catalog links, and keep track of multiple locations. It's all there, on one server. I think if we're serious about building something long-lasting and great here, you are going to need to cut away from the shackles of free hosting. Yes, SHL still uses free hosting, but have you seen how much of a sprawling mess that place is? There's too much going on for it to be truly welcoming to newcomers. It's confusing. It's not inviting. Then there's the issue of the player builder accidentally getting buggered recently. On a single server, a rollback to fix that is painfully simple. I could go on, but then I'm talking more about what we could add again. Heh.
Thing I like
The way Head Office is being run at the moment. Head Office is acting more proactively than in the past, I think. Which is a major improvement. There are a lot of things that could have been avoided if there had been more willingness to take action before things become problems. The communication with the user base and efforts being taken to promote transparency and keep everyone in the loop are things that should have been happening from the beginning, imo. Better late than never, though. I don't have the time for head office, so I appreciate that it's hard work and thankless. I do. But some of the issues here so far (and we're in what? season five?) could probably have been avoided if there had been more open discourse between administration and members. You need that on ANY sizeable online community (trust me, I admin'd a large forum before. It was rough) otherwise trust disappears and members become disillusions and quit (which we've seen here too).
I impersonate a programmer for a living
Father of the League Wiki • Friendly Neighbourhood Angry Black Guy™ • NOT British
Originator of the Sim League Cinematic Universe (SLCU)
Super capitalists are parasites. Fite me.
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