Site Feedback Let's have a discussion about the site

As far as I can tell, there are two major issues:
* technical issues reported by Demon need to be addressed if true
* staff roaster needs to be revisited, with some removed, some promoted, and new staff added

It has very much to do with this. Mod behaviour directly affects site's reputation and image adn the atmosphere of the community. So his feedback is relevant to this thread.

 

Bad_Ad for owner? I'm down with it.
The question then becomes the price of course.

I want Kev to stay, as do many of us, but if we absolutely must have a new owner here's some names I like
-Bad_Ad
-Borman
-Retro (listen lets not set this thread on fire again for mentioning a name)
-Still Kevin (please?)
Shoutouts to Hex for an honorable mention

Borman I see as too busy with his new job as a curator but I would still like to see him take it on. He's been here a while, is a staff member already, and for the most part knows what to do. A carbon copy of Kev if you will
Bad_Ad has been here enough to know what goes on and what to do and has also managed to be in the top 10 posters.
Retro despite what has happened in the thread earlier is currently an admin, has been around for a while, knows the rules and usually doesnt let the bullshit through

This is just my opinion, some might disagree. Im flexible enough to work with whatever is thrown at me even if I don't like it in the end.

 

I just want to see this place firing on all cylinders.

ASSEMbler has been doing this a long time and it's only natural to get burned out. Also his health has suffered over the years and that's more important than working on a website - thats common sense and understandable.

But none of this is news. It's been like it for a few years and I think it would only be sensible to get people on board that still have the ambition to keep the site running and the access to the server if the worse we're to ever happen. If he wants to sell it rather than deal with the hassles - I understand that and want to talk.

If I were to get hold of the site, I want it to exist as it is. Just with the improvements and features everyone has wanted for years.

Despite having disagreements with assembler over the years, he's been man enough to let the threads/posts and me continue to be here. A lot of other sites administrators would have gone ban hammer happy for far less. We are all human and make mistakes and just because you are staff or an admin doesn't mean you should be beyond questioning as far as I am concerned and assembler seems to have allowed for this and it's fostered a great community. I wouldn't like to see it vanish or get into the hands of someone with different intentions.

 

That's ironic, because according to the rules he should've been banned a long time ago for breaking them over and over. His loyalty to Kevin, however admirable, is irrelevant, as continued behaviour of the sort displayed in this thread, among other instances, further damages the site and it's community.

The rest of your list looks good. Personally, I'd love to see Borman running the place. He seems like the most balanced individual here and is really good at communication. Which is super important for a project leader (ie site admin). But, like you said, he's probably too busy.

There needs to be new additions to the staff, both mods and admins. It's a real pity Demon blew it by being as rude and as feisty as he's been because I feel like his addition to the tech side of things would've done wonders for the site.

This is a very good point that hasn't been mentioned enough.

 

It's amazing how many people jump to conclusions.

Firstly, when did Kev ever say he was going to SELL the site? And yet there's already discussion of who's going to buy it.

To be honest, I think he will just take some time out, re-evaluate and be able to look at things with a fresh perspective.

@americandad et al - yes, I shouldn't have said what I did in this thread... however, it was yet another user who likes to stir shit and is a repeat offender. Not excusing myself, but my personal situation is beyond dire at the moment. Trying to get this site back up earlier in the year cost me a £15,000 contract... and that was a month job. My health is not good. And hey, my mobile phone has a £1.50 rubber cover on it that is literally falling to pieces, because I haven't been able to fix it.

Of course, you all see what is public. Please be mindful that a lot goes on behind the scenes that you won't know about. These people often bombard us via PM, too... and I mean relentless arguing. We request that you are respectful of staff. You don't have to like a staff decision, but accept a slap on the wrist and we'll all move on and get along. Sadly, some people are incapable of doing this. It's there in black-and-white. If you break the rules, I try (as I did in this case) to reach out, either in public or private (or both) and say "hey, this isn't getting you anywhere... please play nice." If you keep it up, yes you'll get a ban. If you come back and continue mouthing off to me, at the moment, you're damn well going to get an earful back. This isn't my job. I don't get paid for it.... every time I am on this site, I'm not doing something that would be earning me money. If you don't respect the rules... per Kev's instructions.... you'll get a ban, starting with a week.

Likewise, please don't comment on something where you don't know the full story. If staff have to step in, then people need to listen to their advice. Every issue reported is looked at fairly. Every issue is dealt with, often in PM... so you won't have seen the initial outcome. If someone got me worked up enough to swear at them, they've probably done quite a lot behind the scenes and been asked to knock it off before.

Asking to be banned and then repeatedly signing up again and again, and threatening staff, is not acceptable behaviour. We all know that the position comes with a certain amount of hate - you can't always be the good guy if you're trying to get people to conform with the rules. However, the complete lack of respect can get you down. It's a thankless, unpaid job... how would you cope with it? It's like working in an arcade, which you love, but you can't play on the games because you're too busy sorting them out when they go wrong, in the meantime getting kicked by screaming kids and having to deal with their spilt Coca-Cola, complete disregard for lightguns worth hundreds of dollars and the fact they go in a holster, and picking their disgusting chewing gum out of coin mechs and the like.... and getting either a shit wage or doing it voluntarily. You'd probably quit, right? And yet the staff here are unpaid, get abuse, but stick at it. Thanks, guys!

 

Twitter - https://twitter.com/ASSEMblergames/status/919310349907742723

And a screenshot of the tweet was posted on page 1 - https://www.assemblergames.com/threads/lets-have-a-discussion-about-the-site.67080/#post-951386

 

https://twitter.com/assemblergames?lang=de

 

Interesting

 

Nah I'm too much of a beginner to deal with a site in this size.

 

I do not condone what Demon did in the slightest.

However, in a few posts here, there are many truths. Borman, Kao and mairsil did sum up the issues nicely.

I hear you've been ill, and apparently dangerously, apparently in need of some cash really bad or something?
Personally health and wellness are above everything else. If you're having that much issues, I'm afraid to say, you may have to sell some of your collection to others. You seem to have a lot of rare things. How come you didn't sell those if you were that much in need?

If you hoard until you somehow drop dead all of a sudden, you have priority issues. I do lots of things but if I have to stop doing what I'm doing for the sake of my health, I may even sell what I have, even the stuff that have sentimental value to myself for my own sake.

 

Not everything is as it seems, don't believe Assembler simply because he's Assembler. And as far as I know, Assembler has sold some things recently.

 

While I appreciate the support, I have no interest in running the site. As you guys already noticed, I am fairly usually with the new gig, but on top of any conflict of interest the truth is I wouldn't be any better at maintaining the site.. I just don't have the administration skills necessary to keep the site afloat, nor am I the moderator who really takes the reigns to make the hard decisions.

I feel like my role has been to be a sensible voice to keep things moving along, and I'm happy to keep doing that.

I've thrown it out there that it Kevin is still in the NY area, that we should meet up and talk, not just about the sites future, but just talk in general like we never had a chance to before. That offer has been there for a while, but it's still just as valid as it was.

 

From what I have gathered here (and across the internet as i dig furtjer and further into console modding) bad_add is a very knowledgeable person and someone I would gladly contribute a donation to to help purchase the site if this is what it comes down to

 

I don't think it's that black and white. Also ridiculed seems like a strong word. It insinuates that people en masse are laughing at your expense or dismissing you as a person. If that's happening it's only on a small scale and that would happen to anyone. The positive sentiment outweighs the negative, even now. When I say even now I acknowledge that this is probably my least favorite time with the site over my four years of membership. I don't say that to be insulting or rude and I know I'm not important in the big scheme.

This is honestly the most disappointing part for me. I've said it to others and I'll say it here: I'm really disappointed with the "site split." It sounds dramatic but being here and talking with others was a focal point for me constantly. That seems to have faded away.

Very true. This is a great point.

Personally I think after the hack the site sort of split. That has been incredibly disappointing for me. I always considered this place my home base and now it feels like half the reason it was is gone. That not blame or accusatory, just my personal feelings.

I can always help with whatever necessary. I'm not adept at a lot of stuff that might be involved but I can evaluate what I'm able to do based on the needs at hand. I know that I have a trusted relationship with one of the mods and I've been cordial with others. If some regulation is needed I can do my best.

Also people do care about others here. This community is a lot warmer than plenty of others.

 

I, for one, will say that my life would be a little less complete if assembler goes away, i find it to be my "homepage" for gaming, from good knowledge, to helpful people, to simply a place to read and enjoy..... I understand life can be that way sometimes, and if you need to go, then go, but I can tell you, unashamedly, you and the place you have created would be missed in ways im not even sure you can imagine.

 

The latest dump Internet Archive did was this summer. If we disregard material that has been added since April or so, do you have a link to something on the site that is not in the Wayback Machine?

 

I would be cool with this. Bad_Ad84 is knowledgeable, and I've done business with him before, a business transaction which ran into a snag but which he resolved in a mutually beneficial manner.

 

I have problems mapping the links that have changed since the downtime back to what they were before so I can't point out anything specific, but I remember not having content beyond the first page of some threads I was trying to get from a.org. None of the embedded/attached files were available, and images were hit and miss iirc.
edit: poked around for a bit, and the current state of their backup appears to be good.

So you weren't told about this? Not even a short "FYI"? Wouldn't this concern you if you were/are, in fact, a full site admin - as opposed to "only" a forum admin? (NB, I don't know which one you're supposed to be, but either way it's something to think about.)

 

I'm not sure Kevin is serious about putting the site up for sale.

He was understandably pretty sad yesterday, and putting that description on Twitter may have been an impulse-of-the-moment kind of thing.

I'm glad he took a little break from this thread, hopefully to do something he likes and relax a little. When he comes back to it with a cool head and a bit of a step back, only then could he tell us what is really his decision.

Mental health is very important, and if running this website/community has become too painful for him, I'll respect his decision to step down. But I don't think this would be positive for the community, unless it is a perfect passing of the torch.

 

I suspect that is exactly what has happened.