| Welcome to the 3lue Diamond Clan! If you're seeing this, it means you are viewing the 3DC boards as a guest. This allows you to see a couple of our forums, but you won't be able to post. Please take the time to look through these and, if you like what you see, register. Registration is quick, easy, and free. Once you register, you will be able to see and post in all of the forums, as well as partake in other member-only features such as tournaments. You do not need to register to use our chatroom or participate in our weekly meetups: everyone is welcome! Click here to register for the forums! If you're already a member please log in to your account below: |
- Pages:
- 1
- 2
| This is an idea | |
|---|---|
| Topic Started: Jun 23 2010, 10:47 PM (1,123 Views) | |
| Exolios | Jun 23 2010, 10:47 PM Post #1 |
|
Supreme Ruler of the Internet
  ![]](http://z1.ifrm.com/static/1/pip_r.png)
|
Okay, I've mentioned it in another thread, but, I'll make a new post here and clarify this. I got an idea. And it involves 3DC, IBC and me. Take note that what's said in this thread is based off personal experience and my opinion. First of all, I think most of you can see in which direction 3DC is going. The first (and best) 3DS clan. And that's awesome. You've got a great head start, and activity is blooming on the forums, which is a pleasant surprise. And there's IBC. Whom, in all honesty, don't seem to go anywhere. However, they got a fairly active member base, filled with "patriotic" members as well as dedicated members. Plus, they're BDC's old rival clan from what I remember. I'm pretty sure that with a nice kick in the butt, IBC can slowly get back on its feet. And now, for the idea. Currently, 3DC and IBC are two separate "clans". I'm quoting the word "clan" because, face it, neither 3DC nor IBC is a clan. It's a community that enjoys casual competition in various games with other small groups of people and with each other. In no way I would see 3DC nor IBC compete on MLG or start using a very strict set of rules to limit memberships on the forums / clan. 3DC, as well as IBC are two separate "clanmunities" (© 2010 Exolios).  And from what I'm seeing, 3DC has no intention of becoming a "clan" (by the average gamer's standard). A clan is about competition. A community is about friendship. And 3DC is a heartwarming community that enjoys events here and there. So is IBC. Well, in the past, that is. Anyhow, looking at the direction you're taking, naming yourselves a "clan" isn't the best idea. From experience, "clans" (or website that bear that name) SCARE OFF regular users that are simply looking for friendly discussions and casual gaming with occasional "hardcore" events (aka, what you guys do). Plus, "clans" websites are usually deemed "unprofessional" by the Internet's standard. Just take a look at most clans out there... Also, naming yourselves a "clan" would attract actual users that are looking for hardcore gaming / competitions. Seeing that the "clan" they just joined is populated with mostly casual gamers, they WILL promptly leave (and again, this is from personal experience). So basically, calling yourselves a "clan" attracts the wrong audience AND scares off potential members. The solution? Don't name yourselves a clan. But, that's a bit drastic. As I mentioned in various previous threads, a viable solution would be to create a community (for the rest of the thread, we'll call this community 3dscommunity.com) that INCLUDES a clan. How do you benefit from this? Here are some good points:
Now, for IBC. IBC could benefit from this whole situation (3DC, the release of the 3DS and even the latest news they got from their network administrator. Of course, the logical solution would be for them to have a system similar to the one I proposed. But, here's the twist. Why not have both IBC and 3DC share this 3dscommunity.com? After all, 3DC and IBC are similar, not just by name, but also by history and vision. The only difference between the two sites currently is how much ambition they have. If you look at old BDC a couple of months back, you've got to admit you weren't faring much better than the current IBC. IBC just needs a little help, and, I'm sure it can get back on it's feet. Anyhow, back to this preposterous idea of mine! How would this work? Simple.  Instead of having only one forum category named "3lue Diamond Clan", you could also have another one named "Infinite Blue Clan". Heck, you could even do something cool with user groups. Having TWO clans hosted on one forum gives you A LOT of opportunities. Here are some. Events Having 2 clans on one forum gives you EASY clan battles and events. It's only a matter of posting on the same forum and scheduling something. No hassle to go post on another forum! And it can be pretty much any kind of events: Clan battles between 3DC and IBC, clan battle for IBC+3DC against an outsider clan, training sessions between IBC and 3DC, and more. Originality If there's one thing clans and communities don't have out there, it's originality. Usually, a clan/community consists of a forum. That's it. No twist, no nothing. You join the forum, most likely post in a tryout thread, and that's it. Having TWO clans on one community...Well, THAT'S original. And that's how successful websites / clans stand out from others. Concepts just show how original and dedicated the admin team is and how they're willing to stand out. Which brings me to... Fun I don't know about you, but, this idea just sounds FUN. As I said, it would almost feel like you're part of another universe. And, THIS is what make people come back to website. By creating a little world where there would be 2 rival clans on one community, you would keep your "audience" on the edge of their seats. Heck, make a story. Both 3DC and IBC want to be the best, but, only one will win. Who shall win? Join the forum and the clans to find out / support them. Backup Plans Having a community provides you with opportunities to expand. You could (but don't have to, of course) have a Wiki, create some sort of game, add a chatroom, etc. If you brand yourselves as a clan, adding all those features won't help since you would still attract the wrong audience. You keep your identities No need to go through a big merge process with IBC. You stay as 3DC, and they stay as IBC. No fuss. The only true downside I can see is that you'd have to switch forums. But, that's where I come in. I'm a network administrator and I have my own server and my own network of websites. If you do go with this idea (or if you go with something similar), I'd be MORE than happy to give you a hand and give you free forum software installation, free domain names, and free hosting space. All of this, ad-free, of course. Now, I'm tired of typing, so, if I missed anything, I'll post replies. And now... Feedback would really be appreciated. 
Edited by Exolios, Jun 23 2010, 10:48 PM.
|
 |
 
|
| Bacon | Jun 23 2010, 11:37 PM Post #2 |
3DC legend
|
This is a really big idea and I appreciate the thought you put into it. It shows that you really are concerned with the futures of both 3DC and IBC and are willing to do a lot to keep them alive. However, I think that this idea is way too big to manage. It's complicated and gimmicky. It seems like a great idea but I doubt it would actually get going in reality. First of all, we are a clan as far as I'm concerned. I say this because "communities" never ever ever work unless they're funded by big organizations. The moment any clan started calling themselves a community was the moment they started to decline (at least that's what happened with BDC. I'm assuming the same thing happened to IBC but I don't know for sure because I wasn't there for it). Identifying a site as "a nice friendly place to chat and play games" has never worked out for anyone as far as I know, and it definitely hasn't worked out for BDC. BDC was a clan when it first started (or at least when I got there which was a month and a half after it started). It was advertised as a clan and I was attracted to it because it was a clan. I remember the days when putting a blue diamond in your MKDS emblem and ACWW flag was mandatory. These are the kinds of things a clan does; it focuses less on being a "nice friendly place" and more on... I wouldn't say "being the best." I guess more just like "leaving our mark." I doubt any clan actually strives to be the best that there is. Other members might disagree with me but as I understood it, changing from BDC to 3DC was to revive the clan and I've been treating it as such. I joined BDC in January 2006 because I wanted to be in a group of people who played MKDS and to represent each other on random Wi-Fi races, and also to compete amongst each other. I don't see how a site will ever get anywhere without competition; it's the reason why we have tournaments and ladders. The point of clan vs. community is a different discussion though, so I'm going to get back to your idea. We've tried to do similar things within BDC in the past. I don't know if you were there for it but we've had at least three separate "BDC teams" ideas. We got excited for it and we tried to keep it going but it always died out in a matter of weeks. What your idea seems to be is to have one central site that branches out into a bunch of different things (the community, the "clans", possible other projects like a wiki). I simply don't think that it could work. This is something that would take a lot of time to build up and maintain and if the members aren't interested in it then it'll fall apart. The only way to keep members interested in a "community" is to provide gaming news, which everyone goes to GameFAQ's and IGN for. I just don't think the whole concept of "two clans in one site" will hold member's interest for too long. You seem to have come up with a lot of these ideas before but (with all due respect) I haven't seen any of them really reach your intended goal. I don't think this is a problem with you or your will to work for it; you obviously have plenty of drive for these kinds of things. I simply think that these kind of projects just don't work. This is my opinion and while I greatly appreciate your suggestion and offer, I personally and respectfully decline it. I don't speak for the other admins and members though, so we'll see what they think. |
|
|
|
| phoenix | Jun 24 2010, 12:19 AM Post #3 |
Administrator
|
Everything that Bacon said rings true to me. Also, I have a lot of personal investment in our current motion, toward 3DC as a 3DS clan. I've spent countless (Seriously I wouldn't be able to count the number of) hours in the admin CP of this board, and Bacon or PT can attest to that. Basically, "a bird in the hand is worth two in the bush". I'm not willing to risk our current momentum, focus, and energy in this pipe dream. Yes, it's all good on paper, but that's what pipe dreams are. As some of you may know, I'm currently trying to talk to IBC to work out some kind of mutually beneficial deal. But they're really dead and it's tough to get a hold of any of them. MLS joined here from IBC, and in the mean time I hope you're all especially welcoming to any IBC members that join here in the future. Edited by phoenix, Jun 24 2010, 12:24 AM.
|
|
|
|
| KarasuG | Jun 24 2010, 12:35 AM Post #4 |
Corvid Fanatic
|
Yet again, I'm the lone dissenter. Somewhat. From pretty much the day he joined, Exolios has had many ideas I fully stand behind. And this is one of them. But I'll cut my support short for once, since there already seems to be a consensus against it. However, I definitely agree that (almost) anything involving IBC would benefit us both. |
|
|
|
| MLS | Jun 24 2010, 02:49 AM Post #5 |
3DC member
|
Well the first thing I want to say is this. You guys are really really going out of your way to help us out over at IBC, and for that I wholeheartedly thank you. I know that Phoenix knows how much the welfare of IBC means to me, so it means a lot. However, as was mentioned before, the idea sounds good on paper, and without the proper member support it will fall apart. Thank you very much for your great idea, but I just don't think it's something that can be supported by us. |
|
|
|
| Pure$killz | Jun 24 2010, 08:44 AM Post #6 |
The voice you dread
|
I dont see nothing wrong for making a clan community page in which clans can easily go to for information on events such as meet ups, tournaments, basically just event news in general. What I am saying is we the 3dc could create a hub site and other clans if they want to can join and we can host meet ups and if they want to come they can or if another clan wants to host a meet up or a tournament and so on they can that way we are all connected. I understand he basically wants to make a site to make this place bigger by joining both of us together and doing the same thing, but i think what the admins here want is to not change our identity by forming it with another but by keeping it our own and not having to answer to anyone for that matter. |
|
|
|
| klaw224 | Jun 27 2010, 09:22 AM Post #7 |
3DC member
|
The problem you guys is that you think everything is too hard to do/manage |
|
|
|
| Zaknafein | Jun 27 2010, 01:11 PM Post #8 |
|
3DC member
|
Perhaps it is that with the centralized system of control, changes like the ones suggested in these posts are un-realistic. Maybe if a de-centralized administration was set up, such ideas would be feasible. Not that I know what I'm talking about or anything, I've only been here for two days. |
|
|
|
| phoenix | Jun 27 2010, 01:12 PM Post #9 |
|
Administrator
|
@klaw and others We're pretty committed to our current idea. Members so fickle ._. Edit: Zaknafein would you care to elaborate? Edited by phoenix, Jun 27 2010, 01:13 PM.
|
|
|
|
| Zaknafein | Jun 27 2010, 01:49 PM Post #10 |
|
3DC member
|
Off the top of my head? Some type of committee (headed by the current leadership) that could oversee test pools for ideas enacted by members. These pools would then try ideas for those who are interested in the different ideas. And if there is enough evidence that those ideas have matured enough and the changes can be made without too much disruption to the current setup, the committee could then choose to implement these changes. However the point should be made that the members are fleshing out these ideas so that the committee can better make their decision and that any decisions are therefore final. Committee members should also not have to intervene or participate in these pools unless given approval by the other members to make sure objectivity is maintained. Does that make sense? Or did I go over my own head? |
|
|
|
| Exolios | Jun 27 2010, 06:58 PM Post #11 |
|
Supreme Ruler of the Internet
|
Well, I can't convince you to do anything, and, since IBC (which should now be called FBC) has decided to go their own way I guess it's even more unlikely for my idea to happen. But, since I've worked hard on making that post, I'll also work hard on making constructive criticism and a nice reply to Bacon's post. 
Sorry, but, I HAVE to point out that not only you're a clan based off the most gimmicky gaming company ever (Nintendo), but, even your new name is a gimmick (3lue Diamond Clan). People absolutely LOVE gimmicks. As long as it's presented with fashion and handled well. However, if you think you can't manage it (and if it's too complicated for your current team), I can fully understand that.
Ah, well, we both have different definitions of what exactly a clan is! For me, your current state is one of a "community". As I said, a clan implies some competition, while a community focuses more on casual gaming. I don't think your decline is the cause of calling yourselves a community though. If I remember, actually, you called yourselves a community BECAUSE you were declining. Otherwise, why would you have changed your name? In any case, I believe your decline was caused by:
At least, this is what I observed in 95% of the Nintendo Clans I've been in.
If BDC wasn't "a nice friendly place to chat and play games", what was BDC?
A NINTENDO clan, may I add. Not your conventional gaming clan! BDC is one of the oldest Nintendo clan out there, so, it has pretty much set the bar for Nintendo Clans in general. However, a Nintendo clan (as BDC members know it) is QUITE different from any other gaming clan. It looks WAY more like a gaming community than anything else.
Actually, yes. Clans, by definition (or at least mine and Wikipedia's have for objective (at least one of their multiple objectives) to be the best. May it be within a small group of other clans or netwide. If your goal is leaving your mark, then, I don't think this is either the goal of a clan nor a community, but more of a small group of friends! 
As far as I know, a LOT of communities have tournaments and ladders as well as competitions. What's really apparent in your post is that you never mentioned "Clan battles" with other clans (which is one of the only "feature" that differentiate clans from competitive communities), but you did talk a lot about playing with a group of people that are REGISTERED on the site.
I somewhat remember this. May I ask what was the structure and how it worked (or how it was supposed to work and what happened instead?) I don't want to talk about something I don't have a full understanding of.
That's right!
Oh.
Oh? Are the members interested? And is a clan easier to maintain than a community?
Isn't that the definition of a "News site"? A community is a... forum! A place for people to interact with each other and have discussions. I don't think communities necessarily need a blog to post news article on.
You're the judge! You know your members more than I do.
With all due respect, that's a LITTLE BIT rude. Do you know what websites I've managed, and what my ideas have evolved in? Can you name the network that currently includes all my websites? I'm sorry, but, you DON'T know if my ideas worked or not! And if you think there's a single idea out there that'll work FOREVER without changing anything, you're wrong. In order for a website to survive, it must adapt and build on ideas. Just like how BDC has introduced new ideas to maintain activities over the years.
In all honesty, this is the impression I have too. You have GREAT ideas! Like, seriously! However, it's sad to see that you don't want to expand them, sometimes!
This is a very interesting idea. I've had something like that before, actually and it worked fairly well. However, the problem is that there isn't enough people on the staff (or on the website in general) to make such a committee! The committee is pretty much everyone that currently visits 3DC. |
|
|
|
| Bacon | Jun 27 2010, 08:36 PM Post #12 |
|
3DC legend
|
Sorry if that came off as rude or hostile, I honestly didn't mean for it to. I should have clarified that I was wondering if any of your ideas ever did work out successfully. Like you said I don't know any of your sites now or anything so I don't mean to say that they never did.
Well then I guess we're at a disagreement here. My vision of a clan in the sense that we're taking it (and the way that I remember in the original BDC) is based off of competition and yes, wanting to "be the best" if you want to put it that way, but not like super-ultra-pro-hardcore-MLG "best." It's about being good and getting better at the game and furthering the clan's reputation along with your own within the clan. I understand that other clans for more seriously competitive games like Halo or whatever will strive to be the "best ranked in (area)" or whatever but that's not really the kind of clan that I'm talking about. I'm tired of communities because they never work or at least I've never seen one work that wasn't funded by a big company. Your vision for a community seems to be about getting a bunch of people together to talk about stuff. I can already talk to people and I don't need the Blue Diamond Community to find people to talk to. While you may think otherwise, I am convinced that "communities" like this will never ever work. What are these communities based on? What makes one member more notable in a community? In a clan it would be someone who's really good at the game or games. What is it in a community? Whoever talks the nicest? Whoever makes the most riveting discussions? Communities are pointless; you don't need the "Blue Diamond Community" to find people to talk with about games.
I didn't talk about clan battles because people always seem to scoff at the idea, and for the fact that there aren't really any other clans out there at the moment to have clan battles with. I am personally for clan battles but I don't want to mention them if people will just laugh about it. And yes, "communities" have these things but they're in a much different mood and setting than what a clan puts them in. Nobody ever wants to participate in them because communities aren't geared towards competition, and when they do get participants, nobody cares who wins because these communities aren't supposed to be so mean and competitive!
BDC (2005-2006) was about competing in Nintendo Wi-Fi. Chatting and socializing came with the deal but the clan was based on the competition and improving in the game(s) (which is why we had the blue diamond symbol in our emblems, tiers, snaking guides, etc.)
BDC organized into different "teams" (you didn't HAVE to join a team though) and these teams had their own forums. People would compete between the teams and then report the outcomes of their matches which gained them points. Their total points would be displayed on the leaderboard on the main page. All of these "teams systems" failed for the following reasons: - Dying lack of member interest despite the many efforts to keep the hype alive - In order to have your total points on the leaderboard you had to tell an admin who would then update the leaderboard. The lack of immediate results and the difficult nature of having to report your results every time you played a game with someone discouraged members from actually playing any games - The teams were member driven. If the members were disorganized (which they often were) then that would screw up the whole thing I compare this to your idea because like our teams, your idea needs constant admin AND member monitoring for it to actually get going.
That's exactly what I think. Maybe I'm thinking wrong, but every big and complex idea that we've tried so far has always failed. Keep the equation simple and easy to follow. Like phoenix said we're already committed to our current idea. I am confident that this is the best way to pull us out of the slump that we're in. We've tried being a community and we've tried complex and radical ideas. If we try again there's little chance that we'll actually succeed. |
|
|
|
| klaw224 | Jun 28 2010, 06:43 AM Post #13 |
|
3DC member
|
You see the difference now is that we have Exolios (who is a web designer i think) he can help us! and I can pitch in too! I know my stuff with web design
|
|
|
|
| NFK | Jun 28 2010, 11:00 PM Post #14 |
3DC regular
|
I honestly do like the idea, Exo. However, I think it would be something much better to be implemented once we have stable activity regardless. As Bacon has pointed out with our BDC Teams, they drive activity for a bit and then quickly start to plummet. And then we're left with a dead forum and unhappy members. Perhaps if we were able to become stable through: 1. Huge influx of 3DS players. 2. Nintendo has bluntly stated they "desperately" wish to improve their online (however, what improvement means is unknown). http://www.joystiq.com/2010/05/07/miyamoto-nintendo-desperate-to-realize-online-business/ 3. Ride this 3DS hype and use it advertise 3DC. Gameplay videos, reviews, forum posts, word of mouth, etc etc. 4. Do the things that BDC did when the DS first came out. Obviously, tiers, rankings, challenges, etc etc is something people are drawn to. 5. Then, if we get people actively participating, continually introduce new ideas. Ideas like Exo details. Even my own post sounds like hopeful fluff to me, but it's still possible. |
|
|
|
| Qc Storm | Jul 2 2010, 11:07 PM Post #15 |
Ӳ_Ѧ/~Γ╚{▄░£φÜΘϒ
|
Alright, honestly, I didn't read everything, so my statement may be a bit off. But right now, I don't believe it could work out, since both IBC and 3DS are rather limping. Although I did not experience IBC's activity firsthand, I'll just base this fact on what others said. What makes clans stand out from other gaming communities is competition. I don't know if you guys remember the early days, when MKDS was all the rage. We would compete with other clan members, as well as with each others, for pride and stuff. When the 3DS comes out, we'll probably all buy a 3DS, head over to popular gaming boards, pwn some noobars and spread the word. If we're lucky, it should bring a steady flow of people, further increasing the activity of both forums and console play, which can only create a chain reaction. We already have a pretty cool community here. Everyone is extremely polite and friendly, and most of all, there is a respect between fans of every consoles. That is NOT something I see often on the internet. Most of the time, gaming discussions stopsat NINTANDO vs XBAWKS VS PLAESTATON. Which reminds me, I should start working on that banner. TF2 is so tempting right now. Damn, that's pretty interesting. But all is not lost. The online for Monster Hunter Tri was pretty good
Edited by Qc Storm, Jul 2 2010, 11:09 PM.
|
|
|
|
| Exolios | Jul 11 2010, 05:45 PM Post #16 |
|
Supreme Ruler of the Internet
|
I decided to do this idea myself: http://www.dstrinity.com/ I'll keep you guys updated if you're interested
|
|
|
|
| phoenix | Jul 11 2010, 09:03 PM Post #17 |
|
Administrator
|
Still interested. |
|
|
|
| sirkibble2 | Jul 20 2010, 05:24 PM Post #18 |
3DC regular
|
I'll throw in my two cents. First off, the separation of a clan and community is not exactly right. A clan is a community. In a community, you have gaming, in a clan you have gaming. In a community you have competitive gaming, in a clan you have competitive gaming. However, clans emphasize the competitive gaming. Generally that means playing to win--which clans do in order to become the best. With that said, at this point, I don't see BDC (3DC) as a clan. It doesn't act like one and it hasn't acted like one for a while. We all talk like we want to be a clan which is why we keep thinking we're a clan but we do nothing to focus our efforts to be a clan. Straight up, competitive gaming is hard. It's focused, it's time-consuming and it requires dedication; the same things required to run a clan. I will say the biggest mistake is that nothing is being implemented beforehand with the regular members to create the natural flow for the new members. If you can't do with six people, you're not going to be able to do it with 25+. I digressed. I like Exolios's idea because in theory, it can work and it is new and about as gimmicky as Nintendo is, which works even more. If people are buying into Nintendo's gimmick's, then half that battle is already won for you. Okay. Now to address the idea specifically...
If the direction 3DC wants to go is a clan, then it's perfect. What they have to consider is will people be interested in a clan.
That's what they want. Competitive gamers. But that doesn't mean casual gamers will have to leave. From my experience at the beginning of this clan, he had hardcore and casual gamers for a very long time. What turns casuals away is when the hardcore make things inconvenient for the casuals.
Considering what Phoenix has done here, it'd probably be better to join this site and contribute your knowledge. That's just an idea.
I can actually see this working. Since a high majority of people always separate clans from communities, moving from here to 3dscommunity.com would work only because it would still be able to combine the idea of community and clan. There's the community aspect of it and then there's the clan aspect divided into 3DC and IBC. Each section of the site takes care of it's own members while the admins work together to maintain the site as a whole. The workload isn't that much when you have many dedicated people on hand with specific tasks to do. Of course, if this was communicated then it would be much easier. But again, the reason I wouldn't suggest the site switch is Phoenix's work into this site. |
|
|
|
| phoenix | Jul 20 2010, 07:53 PM Post #19 |
|
Administrator
|
I asked to be included in the development of this idea, both on MSN and in this topic, and so far Exolios has been keeping all info from me or anyone else in 3DC. I am starting to doubt his sincerity in his wish to "keep us guys updated". |
|
|
|
| Bacon | Jul 20 2010, 08:58 PM Post #20 |
|
3DC legend
|
I think that people need to understand is that 3DC is nowhere near a clan at the moment since our main thing, the 3DS, is nowhere near release date. Again, I'd like to point out that the clan that I am envisioning that I think phoenix is envisioning as well is NOT the "be the best" type of MLG clan. BDC was a clan when it started and it was nothing like that. I don't know how else to emphasize or explain this. So I don't really know what to say anymore. |
|
|
|
| Go to Next Page | |
| « Previous Topic · Announcements & Updates · Next Topic » |
- Pages:
- 1
- 2
4:34 PM Feb 5