Site Complaints and Future of HM

[Iron_Forge]

I don't have access...I wouldn't fix it if I could...I know how complicated the code is, I'm 90% sure what the problem is...it's a 2 minute fix assuming I'm completely wrong, 30 seconds if I'm not...

[Tural]

Iron_Forge seemed to indicate that he didn't know it wasn't working until I pointed it out to him, which leads me to believe he doesn't know/can't confirm the specific source of the problem.

Or he doesn't have access =o

That didn't have much to do with what I said. He said it was a two second fix, I pointed out that it was probably not an accurate estimate, since someone took it to be a literal two seconds.

[Cuda]

Tech questions and problems is gone. Where would i go to ask a question that doesn't pertain to a tech question not halo related?

[Tural]

http://www.halomods.com/forums/viewforum.php?f=2

[Cuda]

kthnx.

[Trulife8342]

Ok, Time for a really long post.

This isn't some halomods pep talk, so don't worry. Before I say anything I wanted to say sorry for all the people I've fucked over such as, Detox, Geo, Philly, sorry for being a royal dick and I just wanted to make that public. Anyways, there are so many things right now that are wrong with the site I just don't know where to begin. I visit a WoW private server forum more than I visit this forum now. Part of it is administration and the way things are being handled. It just doesn't feel like HaloMods any more. Taking a closer look at the situation it really isn't the fact that modding in general is dead that killed the community, Its the lack of friendships and such on a broader scale that killed it. One group is mad at the other for said reasons and isn't willing to work with each other. When you have that level of division in a community shit starts falling apart.

Iron_Forge was a good admin, Note that I don't know him personally nor even spoke with him, But he did his job efficiently. We never ran into many problems with him. We didn't have a stable server/host but we had a stable site. And that was during the period that people couldn't mod. Now look at where we are now, The GFX forum is even pretty much dead, The only thing we really have going for us is the three stickies in the Cafe'. Sure the "ancient" members have gone and some have come back but they aren't the reason this community is dieing/dead. Its because there isn't much of a community at all. SourceGuy, We have talked a lot about certain things. Most if not all the plans we had all failed to make modding in H3 possible. But what you cannot deny is that we did work as a team (not saying your denying it) even though some members that were on that team really didn't like each other. They put it aside for a common purpose and worked in unison. See that's how is should be on HaloMods, The only thing is that there is not purpose any more. What ever could be done has been done, And what hasn't been done cant be done. So we are at a stand still. You may ask what can YOU do to save the community and the site but its not what YOU can do. Its what WE can do. This is our site just as much as it is yours, EVERYONE'S opinion here matters. No one here is "MOANING" nor "BITCHING" They are simply expressing their opinions.

How would you or anyone else appreciate someone telling you that your opinion isn't relevant or it sucks? People have thrown away personal regard for other people's opinions. So what community are you trying to have here? One that only agrees with you or one that actually acts like a community and has independent opinions? Tural, Detox, VG, GTAF, Shadow have all been AMAZING moderators. Each of them did their job perfectly, each grew to be a role model for the members of the community. The more they saw VG type correctly and use proper grammar, The more the members used sentences and words correctly. The more they saw GTAF and Tural joke around and be friendly the more you saw people joke around with each other. The more they saw Shadow talk about how awesome his car is, The more you saw....well ummm he was just a great moderator (<3 khas), And the more thay saw Detox act as a human being and joke around with EVERYONE the more they started to lighten up. Look who are your mods now, They all seem generic (no offense) But I can't tell the difference between Cuda or SHOUT. I don't look up to them, They don't have special traits that make me feel that I couldn't do their job better. When Tural was a mod I never thought I could do it better, I thought he was an ass sometimes. But that was only cause I hated that he always was right. The same goes for everyone else. You need to work with those 5 because this site would not be ANY WHERE if it wasn't for them. That's the first step, Get them back as mods. And learn that you may pay for this site, But thats as far is it goes when it comes to who it belongs to.

Emblems need to be fixed, I don't care how its done, nor do I want excuses. It is something that has always worked and made people strive to do better. And now you and your team is handing them out like cupcakes. And your whole little "I know what I'm doing" comment doesn't fly too high, Cause if you knew exactly what was wrong with this site this topic wouldn't exist would it? You need to look at who is doing what OR at least give the people who gave emblems out in the first place their job back. How do you have the audacity to tell the people who gave the emblems out in the first place that they have been replaced? They did a much better job than the guys you have now. POKEMON EMBLEMS? WTF? You need to fix that and remove the people you picked to give emblems out now, And give the ones who did before their job back. And also I'm not too sure if Anthony is still staff but he shouldn't be, Do not get me wrong he is an AMAZING member and has done soooo much for this site. But I just don't see him suitable with as staff, Same goes to Philly also.

We need to also cut the whole "lets be nice to the people who broke the rules" Cause thats utter crap. When you commit a crime you don't go to a spa, You get your ass thrown in jail. This needs to be the same case, You don't need to respect the people who obviously do not respect you. Because if they did they would break the rules that you made, now would they? So lose the whole be nice to people who make this site shit idea and actually enforce the rules WITHOUT discretion.

Stop looking for cheap fixes. In-line ads are fucking stupid. If I will donate 10 bucks to a private server I would definitely donate to this site. And people want incentives for doing good things, If there are no incentives then whats the point? Someone donates well give them an emblem. the more people see those emblems the more they will want to be noticed for contributing to the site. Why donate to something when you wont even gain recognition for it, makes no sense. Move to a cheaper host, Or find someone to host it themselves. If paying for this place is such a "personal" problem then hand it over to someone else. You chose to own this site, Don't go around changing shit cause you took this site as it was. And this site is driven by its members so if they are unhappy you need to fix it.

To conclude this statement, I want you to know that no matter who says something on this site, whether they agree with you or not, their opinion counts. You should really get off your high horse and start to really listen to the members. Not just tell them to quit bitching, Cause if it wasn't for them, you wouldn't have a site at all. I want to end this statement by saying that even to those members who hate me I still love em. they have been great friends of mine for a very long time. And I am sorry I have done them wrong, But they will always be friends to me. SG Please dont ruin this site. It really is something special to me and many other members on here.

Thank you once again,
Mauro,

[WaeV]

Stop looking for cheap fixes. In-line ads are fucking stupid. If I will donate 10 bucks to a private server I would definitely donate to this site. And people want incentives for doing good things, If there are no incentives then whats the point? Someone donates well give them an emblem. the more people see those emblems the more they will want to be noticed for contributing to the site. Why donate to something when you wont even gain recognition for it, makes no sense.

This.

[SHOUTrvb]

Look who are your mods now, They all seem generic (no offense) But I can't tell the difference between Cuda or SHOUT. I don't look up to them, They don't have special traits that make me feel that I couldn't do their job better.

Although I do agree that I don't exactly enforce much moderating authority a lot of the time unless a situation just gets out of hand, I feel slightly unappreciated there.. I've been fighting both sides of this whole situation with basically sticks and rubber trying to be the best ambassador/mediator for what I truly care about here; the community. I've been doing this since I became a member of the site and signed on as a Guardian over 4 years ago.. Even when I became a Moderator back in 'o6, I've never really enforced a lot of power over situations since I always found that I was better at calming situations down by communication. Up until the forum changes and my return as a Staff member, I did that well. I mediated where Tural, Veegie, and other former moderators enforced, and it was an effective balance. Times have simply changed.. my influence over the community as the Staff "nice guy" has greatly died down, so I haven't been extremely effective in resolving board-specific problems, but I still work hard behind the scenes to be a strong voice for the community. Given the current situation, I don't really take your comments too personally; and I note that your post was not at all about me or Cuda, but ever since this change I've not been given a lot of chances by either side of the stick help this community. My position as a Staff member obligates me to accept responsibility for the shortcomings of the site changes, but if the Administration that I've worked with for years now had listened to me in many situations before and after the change, a lot of this could have been avoided. I've been obligated to take responsibility for decisions behind the scenes I was never even aware of; nor have I been in the loop on any further changes, and this is not due to inactivity. So I digress, as to not sound selfish in the matter; the fault lay with both sides.. including myself for not pushing this community's best interest harder.

[Trulife8342]

Shout you read me all wrong, I Am only judging by what you show on the site, Not behind closed doors. You can't expect me to say your doing an awesome job when I don't really see what your doing lol, That's no reflection on how you are as a member cause you are one of the nicest guys on this site. I was talking strictly on moderation policies that's all.

[Yodel]

Okay, my turn. I know I don't do much, and usually my posts don't go beyond the "inane comment" level, but in the time that Halomods has become a part of my life. I love this place, and I only want to help. Hear me out.

I think that Trulife made several great points, but the one that I'd like to address is the community aspect.

Taking a closer look at the situation it really isn't the fact that modding in general is dead that killed the community, Its the lack of friendships and such on a broader scale that killed it. One group is mad at the other for said reasons and isn't willing to work with each other. When you have that level of division in a community shit starts falling apart.

To develop a stronger community bond would be to save Halomods from decline, and it's not even that hard a thing to do.

I remember this weekly/monthly thing that CabooseJr used to do-- Shenanigans. It was (supposed to be) a weekly get together of whatever Halomods members wanted to just mess around in Halo 3. It was grand fun, and it was one of the first things brought me into the community. Unfortunately it fell apart after a while, but I saw the potential it had to bring people together.

I believe that scheduled community events would be a great way to bring the Halomods community back together, wether they be Halomods intramural tournaments, image-editing contests, or Shenanigans-type mucking about sessions. Anything that has members actively working together or having fun will do loads to bring our community back to life.

[Cuda]

There is no internets jail. If we rebanned/RC'd all of the people that were once in it, site traffic would be dwindling below what it would be. People like DrXThirst, Veegie, and Jackson would not be here anymore. The leeway with the unbans is good to an extent. Everything going straight to bans or slaps on a wrist don't matter. Seeing how we warn for "Bannable" things, a person would have to commit 3 minor/major offences to be banned, and that may not even stand. With population in the numbers we have now, it's not wise to be super strict, but it's foolish to not maintain a sliver of integrity.

[Tural]

Those cases are cases of broken rules (To an extent, two of the cases you mentioned are somewhat biased), and second chances. A person can change, and if the person can show that they likely will be a productive member of the community, many times they are given another chance. People can be given punishments and still be allowed back when they've fixed the behavior.

[SHOUTrvb]

Shout you read me all wrong, I Am only judging by what you show on the site, Not behind closed doors. You can't expect me to say your doing an awesome job when I don't really see what your doing lol, That's no reflection on how you are as a member cause you are one of the nicest guys on this site. I was talking strictly on moderation policies that's all.

This true. Fair enough.

[Trulife8342]

Those cases are cases of broken rules (To an extent, two of the cases you mentioned are somewhat biased), and second chances. A person can change, and if the person can show that they likely will be a productive member of the community, many times they are given another chance. People can be given punishments and still be allowed back when they've fixed the behavior.

Amen, you do not let a broken rule go unpunished, Once the punishment is over you either created a respectable member, Or nothing will change and he wont care and if thats the case, He shouldn't be on the site. I would rather have 1 good member opposed to 1000 bad.

And I agree with Yodel 100%, Community events is exactly what will save this community. Along with better administration and previous other points on which I stated.

[shadowkhas]

The more they saw Shadow talk about how awesome his car is, The more you saw....well ummm he was just a great moderator (<3 khas)

Nah bru the Escort is crap.

But yes, for the most part I agree...but the current Staff don't deserve most of what gets stuck to them. I remember playing against SHOUT in a Halo PC match a good five years ago while I was still one of them lowly Arbiters in the Staff organization. That kind of interaction beyond the level of just talking on the forum is what makes this place more fun. It's a hub for further things.

Shenanigans is fantastic.

[ScottyGEE]

Which gives me further motivation to create the game organiser and post it on these boards...Plus I'm sure I'll need help

[SHOUTrvb]

I agree with Shadowkhas 100%. To me, those classic interactions that exceeded beyond this forum are what made this place great; aside from the phenomenal research. My realm back in the day was PC/CE, so like Shadow said, we would use this place is a HUB to make kick-ass fun mods to goof off in, load em up and have a good time. HaloMods would organize huge games and tournaments to keep the community going. We had not only artistic mods coming out, but fun mods & maps. Things like that and Shenanigans that originate here, then go beyond the forums is what made this place great. It made us friends. It made us a community. Regardless of the changes the Administration chooses to enforce -- although I'm still beginning to lean more and more against these decisions, we still need to keep that in mind. Despite who continues to run this place, the community has a part too.. Lets see some fucking shenanigans! Lets see simple/complex/artsy/stupid-fun maps. Shadow, hit me up on PC sometime and we'll play again.

[Yodel]

I believe that was my idea, not 'Khas's.

[SHOUTrvb]

Well, I was responding more to his specific point, but alrighty. GG.

[Cuda]

I hate all of you. I never really got around to going to any of your "community events" mainly because I don't own any console newer than a PlayStation (Not PS1. Nobody calls it that for fucks sakes.) and when the Halo CE server was up, no one played in it and the few times I did play in it was with Rossmum and random kids wanting to play Yoyorast or KiLLa's Hypothermia.