Alpha Centauri 2

Community => Recreation Commons => Topic started by: Green1 on June 26, 2025, 11:02:26 AM

Title: AC2 promotion
Post by: Green1 on June 26, 2025, 11:02:26 AM

What's the issues with Discords and Reddit?

I get it's feeding lord knows what as far as some large language model or marketing data. But you had bots and companies lurking in the PhPbb's of old. Right now, there are hundreds of lurkers and this is at 5 AM CST. Most of those, probably crawler bots.

You don't have to move all content to them. Reddit is heavy handed on some things and Discord is not a saint, either. But A LOT of news happens there. And a lot would prefer go one place.

I personally do all my games on Discord/Reddit. As a dungeon master, I can go right now and post a game I run on r/lfg and get 10-20 nerds. And I run wargame-y type ORS-ish type stuff. Some of the "heavy arrrpeee" DMs that run popular modules have so many, they need an applicant tracking system on google docs or be overwhelmed.

Title: Re: Re: Forum Downage
Post by: Buster's Uncle on June 26, 2025, 02:46:07 PM

I moved this post here, as -much like Reddit and Discord- it tends to suck up finite oxygen and interfere with/distract from the purpose of the post you replied to.

And the post you were burying already answered half of this - forums are a superior format for a healthy community, not least because it's easy to find conversations going back  16 years.  I been reading old stuff constantly lately; there's a distressing amount of link-rot in old pics and videos, but your words, my words, everyone's posts all the way back - still here.  Good luck finding anything said last year on either of the cancers in question.

As for the rest - it's like the Spammycast; in my way.  You've made it clear a million times over -I re-read that conversation just last week- that you don't get that, but they interfere with recruiting people here, and AC2, like Soylent Green, is made out of people - but doesn't use them up.  If they were a more substantial alternative, I wouldn't mind so much; then they'd be worthy recruiting grounds - I never complain about CFC having an advantage over us, do I?  We're better off with CFC healthy - they don't tend to syphon off members we could have kept, and vice versa, and there IS a little crossover where we both draw unique signups and increase the member pool for the greater Civ community who tend to settle where the fit's best.

Those CFC guys fear and loathe Reddit, too, an admin over there tells me.  You are absolutely correct that people want everyone in one place, just, I think it should be here, not somewhere ephemeral that has a Facebook-like unfair advantage of having taken over the world.  Discord is even worse, tending to divide a too-small online pool of people into fine tiny bits, hard to find tiny bits, w/o any of Reddit's capacity to draw new people.


This post is more time and effort than this matter desrves, you know, what with you're very unlikely to understand my position any better, my mind is firmly made up, and we'll mostly just talk past each other - high-confidence projection.

Title: Re: Re: Forum Downage
Post by: Green1 on June 26, 2025, 06:44:40 PM

Depends on the subreddit or discord. Some of the larger subreddits are echo chamber circle jerks where you say on wrong thing, they ban you then mute you. Others have mods that are employees of whatever company and are corporate subs.

But in SMAC/X circles it's not like that. If you were to grace them, you are someone who ran/runs a fan forum and has since the ancient days and are on first name basis with people in your hobby. It can also drive minions, er, people to your domain. Most of them link you...

Title: Re: Forum Downage
Post by: Green1 on June 26, 2025, 07:24:35 PM

An example....

Title: Re: Re: Forum Downage
Post by: Buster's Uncle on June 26, 2025, 07:41:23 PM

Yeah, that there's MysticWind on the first, and Trenacker is Trenacker on the third.  I also know who the moderator is -a friend and member here, actually- if there's just the one, so I reckon I know where the sidebar link came from.  I still ain't interested -for over a decade  now- in signing up at any new places, ever, for pretty much any reason.

Another thing reddit has all over Discord - you can lurk, so I actually know something about how it works.  I've had r/alphacentauri open in a tab in Chrome since the day after AC2 came back, and done seen all you screenshotted.  I thanked MysticWind in a PM yesterday.

Now please excuse me; I just decided while typing this to go fire off a recruiting PM at CFC...

Title: Re: Re: Forum Downage
Post by: Green1 on June 26, 2025, 08:02:23 PM

Quote from: Buster's Uncle on Yesterday at 07:41:23 PM

Yeah, that there's MysticWind on the first, and Trenacker is Trenacker on the third.  I also know who the moderator is -a friend and member here, actually- if there's just the one, so I reckon I know where the sidebar link came from.  I still ain't interested -for over a decade  now- in signing up at any new places, ever, for pretty much any reason.

Another thing reddit has all over Discord - you can lurk, so I actually know something about how it works.  I've had r/alphacentauri open in a tab in Chrome since the day after AC2 came back, and done seen all you screenshotted.  I thanked MysticWind in a PM yesterday.

Now please excuse me; I just decided while typing this to go fire off a recruiting PM at CFC...

Do you want the lists of Discords I have?

I have a regular SMAC/X one and one involved with GLSMAC. That project is starting to really come together, but lacks AI. There's also projects to upscale art and videos.

Title: Re: Re: Forum Downage
Post by: Buster's Uncle on June 26, 2025, 08:07:26 PM

NO - please do not post cancer links in my house.  No sale.


[ninja'd]
PM sent.


And you're probably right that's I'd enjoy a little neckbeard status over there - I mean, even before I stumbled into forum management and the leadership status that comes with it, I was the only active SMAC(X) game art modder around, I currently still am around, and every. soul. notably, accomplished. at. it. in. between. -save Kilkakon- was. taught. by. ME.  I'm good, and I've been generous, too.

I wish that did better in countering my bad reputation from lame crap I pulled as a newb, especially since said reputation has too much fiction by haterz stirred in.  Some people need to learn to let things go, for christsakes.

-That there last sentence was joke, son, but some jokes are also true.

Title: Re: Re: Forum Downage
Post by: Buster's Uncle on June 26, 2025, 09:03:11 PM

And MY hobby, BTW, is forum management - SMAC(X) art/custom factions, wanting to share and discuss, got me into the community  12 March 2009 at Poly, but stopped being my main hobby early in the first year.  I was a citizen-booster for growing the community from almost the beginning, second only to I did love talking crap w/ bright people in OTf w/ a pure and shining love.  Being a SMACX art-[promiscuous] with a heart of gold became largely a tool/bait in pursuit of the other two focuses - people liked the art well enough, but the sort of excellent nurd these 4x tbs thingies draws is pretty useless for convo on arting if they're not going by UnOrthOdOx.

I am a lonely, lonely, ol' chinbeard, d00d.

-And the game art led naturally into mastering smilies and themes, and visual forum goodie junk like that that no one does better.  It's all good.  If we can get the tech side stable here, and recover from the hit our reputation takes for reliability from the downage -and get way more active w/ people posting- I will be a very happy and fulfilled spazbo.  I don't actually care about that game in the name much anymore.

Title: AC2 Promotion
Post by: Buster's Uncle on June 27, 2025, 01:39:49 PM

Funny coincidence, Green - last night I went to the last page of the AAR subforum and was in the middle of skimming Lal Must Suffer when I noticed how late it was and went to bed.  I'd forgotten -it was a very long time ago- how pleasant your AARs were, that you were our first, and how many you did.

This morning, about the time I got up, you post in the reddit invitation thread and talk about all your AARS and how you need a forum for that.  If you'd thrown in some links, it would have been Perfect.  Two thumbs up, and thanks for the plug, sir.

 ;b; :salute: ;b;

---

Didn't touch the OP in the fresh edit except to change the thread title.

Title: Re: AC2 promotion
Post by: Green1 on June 27, 2025, 02:39:41 PM

Quote from: Buster's Uncle on Today at 01:39:49 PM

Funny coincidence, Green - last night I went to the last page of the AAR subforum and was in the middle of skimming Lal Must Suffer when I noticed how late it was and went to bed.  I'd forgotten -it was a very long time ago- how pleasant your AARs were, that you were our first, and how many you did.

This morning, about the time I got up, you post in the reddit invitation thread and talk about all your AARS and how you need a forum for that.  If you'd thrown in some links, it would have been Perfect.  Two thumbs up, and thanks for the plug, sir.

 ;b; :salute: ;b;

---

Didn't touch the OP in the fresh edit except to change the thread title.

You are welcome.

I was thinking about putting an AAR in, but my life has changed substantially since those days and there are a lot of projects going on. One I will be working n after I finish my coffee and walk is I am in the process of finishing up some digital maps from an old Dungeon Magazine adventure. All the tokens are in, but the last map got erased by accident when I was clearing up a bunch of old college stuff. (I got my degree in my 50s after procrastinating all this time). But that's actually a blessing as I know a technique to fix an issue I had wiht the map. Put dynamic lighting, done.

Plus, i am a bonafide draftsman now. No more crap maps!

Then I have a Foundry tech demo. Database is done, just got to deal with Foundry's jank.

But being I am currently going through some illness I do have some time. But I'd want something... different.

Title: Re: AC2 promotion
Post by: Buster's Uncle on June 27, 2025, 03:03:57 PM

I'd really love to have a new AAR up on the first page of the folder, as it happens, it having been a little hogged by a single prolific producer for quite a few slow years.  Your cheery laid-back attitude in the old ones is really refreshing as I continue to review old stuff this morning.

Not to hint/nag or anything - just my honest reaction to the notion, and you party down w/ your own bad self whatever happens.