It's only been 2 days and I thought we had the beginnings of some pretty good ideas here and a general discussion about specifics forming? Some ideas are liked and some are not.
But at least we are giving the idea serious thought (even with the banter)..
In order to promote 'board unity' and whatnot, I decided to register here as an attempt to support other boards that are involved in Ceel's project. Since Ahnk seemed keen on the idea, I thought there would be more support here at TRF. I guess I was wrong.
That was the understanding that Ceel had in all this.
It was never Ceel's intention to force members to go to TGC. If he wanted that, he simply would have advertised at every SW board in an attempt to steal members (see: recent advertising/affiliating attempt with JJB). But I think that Ceel is far beyond trying to get TRFers back at TGC. What's the use? You're all so well-situated here that it would be a useless gesture.
But yes, a portal would help every board traffic-wise. That was one of the goals behind the project. If you did not know that, then you're probably not alone. It wasn't until that final post of Ceel's in the hub forum at TGC before I officially knew his intentions behind the project. Also, it would link every Star Wars board together in some way, encouraging people to board hop and contribute to each Star Wars board. And hell, if this led to everyone eventually getting along, then why not create one large Star Wars board similar to SWFans?
But that's the catch. I got the impression that many people assumed that Ceel wanted this done right away. Seth Vinda seemed to get the picture: this would be a gradual process. First, perhaps, there would be a portal for all the boards, then maybe an overall message board, and then it might even lead to complete Star Wars unification on one board.
Someone previously mentioned that each SW board has some special quality to it. If all SW boards were in one portal, someone could use TRF for RP, TGC for spam, etc.
And concerning the TGC spam issue, yes, we do spam. However, we don't spam as nearly as we used to do - not by a long shot. In the "Dark Ages" of TGC (following the release of Episode 2), we relied on spam to keep the board going. Sure there's spam now, but there's also a lot more conversation. And yes, we do get a lot more posts from OOC discussion than RP. It's all about community.
I know we've bashed TRF in the past and TRF has bashed TGC in the past (see my "More Geniuses Who Don't Like Us thread), but many of us are willing to put it behind us. Ceel is willing, Bane Nathos is willing, I am willing, hell, even Ahnk is willing. Speaking of Ahnk, I never had a problem with him. And all those times where Ceel attempted to ban him, I somewhat stuck up for him while everyone else did not (I also stuck up for ExarGanis too and look how that turned out - ha!). I think it's great that people from TRF, Sithlore, and TGC can officially get along.
And if all these other boards don't want to join the Unity Project, then screw 'em. Why not just have TRF, TGC, and Sithlore unify? We can collectively grow strong and reap the benefits while the other boards decay on account of their ignorance.
But it's all up to you. Meanwhile, I'll be posting at both TGC and TRF in an attempt to help board relations.
I have nothing personal against Ceel, nothing big anyway. He's banned me from TGC for pointing out that his brand-new HTML job was botched badly, and I think one other time for making fun of a guy, but beyond that we're coo' and cuddly.
What irks me about the man is his feigned ignorance. He puts on a large act of ignorance, the old "Everyone hates me and I don't know why". Let me clue you in, though I doubt it'll do any good. When everyone rejects an otherwise good idea simply because you post it, you've probably ticked people off. When every board has people foaming at the mouth when they see your name, you've probably ticked people off. When mere mention of your name sparks flamewars and fights, you've definitely ticked people off.
You can charade for a few months, but it's been years. It's really annoying to see Ceel pulling the hurt little 'I'm a misunderstood child' act over, and over, and over. Honestly, how thick does he have to be to get it that a lot of people hate your guts!. And there's probably a good reason, too.
And no, it's not a conspiracy. It's too big to be a conspiracy.
As for the unity idea, it's a good one. Someone should keep Ceel away from the good ideas (like this one) and have someone else (like Mac) pitch it instead. Someone who doesn't have a crowd with spears and torches waiting for the lynching.
I doubt there'll ever be a complete merging of boards, but as Omnae said before we've offered to take on a failing board before, so raised awareness between the online communities may let people know there's other places to go if their home goes under. I could see some sort of portal being setup, in fact, I have hosting we could host something under (hosting unrelated to TRF, so it wouldn't be unfairly sending people here). So, yeah, if people show interest I could see something like that happening.
Bane and Mac have spent more time here then Ceel (though Ceel, unregistered and invisible, does hover). No matter how you slice it, that the idea originated with TGC is enough to disuade some from examining it's merit, but I'd like to think that (collectively) we can move beyond that.
I've found that in most cases this isn't so. People want it their way, don't get it, get pissy, and then leave. I've seen the pattern over and over at TGC. Trust me, I was there in 2000, left, and have been there since May of 2003.
However, I'm not entirely disagreeing with you. I'm sure there are the selected few (perhaps like yourself) that have been fairly judged. However, Ceel unbans people from time to time. Just go over to TGC and patch things up with him if they're still problems. Heck, I'll even mediate if you want me to. I'm generally the most laid-back staff member when it comes to decisions like that. Ceel is NOT unforgiving. If you simply discuss it with him and make everything all right again, he'll gladly welcome you to post at TGC.
Well, I'm glad I already made that type of impression here.
Trust me, I've done my part. Have you not seen the "More Geniuses that Hate Us" thread in TGC's General Discussion forum? It was originally directed toward TRF. However, I plan on editing my first post in that topic so that it's not so vulgar. Board unity can't be possible if petty bullshit like that still exists.
Also, I'm glad you like the idea. It's nice to know we have someone else on board.
in all seriousness, it is a very good idea, and I think it would be a mistake to let a good idea slip past because of some people's old and somewhat pointless grudges. (in the big scheme of things anyway).
The point of all of this is that it is bigger than one board, one person.
I understand that Ceel is angry, but he needs to realise that the opinions he objected to, are not shared by everyone, and do not as a whole reflect the whole of a community.
Also I think the Ceel bashing should stop now, those who don't like the idea fine, you are entitled to your opinions and you've had the chance to air them, but to continue to throw insults is non-productive , and I'll be of a mind to delete or edit your posts.
Ceel is more angry at the responses from other boards especially from members that roam from board to board joining every one of these threads to bash him. But beyond that, I plan to see this plan through to a usable idea that then we can propose to Ceel perhaps as well.
How would the portal work really? Would news from all the boards even be needed? Or would a simple java site with a graphic ad per side suffice? Also would my idea of having a site of the month also in your minds be good? (have the links in a ring and every month move a new one to a prominant larger spot in the middle)
