This is your forum. Make something of it!

[Erk]

So, this forum is about a week old now, and some things have been rolling really well. Some, though, need a bit of a kick in the butt. If this forum is to be user-run, users need to start helping run it!

The first and most important thing to do is post your work.
The second is to help critique and suggest modifications to the site, in threads (http://www.spongen.org/showthread.php?t=160) like (http://www.spongen.org/showthread.php?t=177) these (http://www.spongen.org/showthread.php?t=36) ones (http://www.spongen.org/showthread.php?t=150), and (http://www.spongen.org/showthread.php?t=134) others (http://www.spongen.org/showthread.php?t=150) like them that keep coming up.
The third is, after reading or giving feedback, to help suggest ways to implement it. This is where a lot of users feel powerless, but the truth is you are NOT powerless. Let me point you to a couple tools that can make it easier for you to suggest improvements:
#1: vbulletin.org (http://www.vbulletin.org )- this is the ultimate compendium of vbulletin plugins. Many already perform functions we need, or functions similar to what we need. Anything coded for vbulletin 3.6 should work just fine; anything for vb 3.5 should be usable: altering the code to suit will be easier than coding it from scratch.
#2: GOOGLE. you can seriously find anything here. Try it out.
#3: [b]The vBulletin admin demo (http://www.vbulletin.com/admindemo.php) lets anyone who wants to try template modifications start playing around in the code that drives a good chunk of vbulletin. You can learn a lot about how stuff works there, and if you are interested in skinning, you can make an entire skin in that tool. Just remember to Export to XML to save your work.

If users can suggest ways to implement the complicated mechanics we're trying to get here, the community will become a lot closer to what we want.

Finally, if you want to contribute and don't know where to start, here's a list of
Important threads/places to post
The Chatter forum (http://www.spongen.org/forumdisplay.php?f=2) has become our place for discussing rules, features, and forum details. Keep an eye on it and contribute to discussions if you want a hand in guiding how this forum is shaped. Everyone has a right to contribute.
This thread (http://www.spongen.org/showthread.php?t=17) is a great place to go and help if you know any PHP. I am not keen on suggesting all this forum's modifications myself: I am not such a great coder.
Punk (http://www.spongen.org/showthread.php?t=29) started a thread about what bbcode to add to the forum. Fun place to contribute!


Feel free to add anything I've missed. It's still pretty early in the morning where I live.

[Cup o' Wisps]

Erk, those threads intimidate me D:

Actually it's this whole idea seems very alien to me. Look at some posts, the wording. They can easily come across as "we all have an equal share". Hell, right above is "your forum". It's got a feel of not "your forum, because we're letting you use it" but "your forum, because we gave it to you".

I don't know why but that just comes out and feels so damn strange.

That each of our voices is as loud as everyone else's, and that by not using that voice we're accomplishing nothing is an odd thing to look at in a forum. Especially when your used to the posting with the grain. Making suggestions to the one guy who'll make a decision, instead of seemingly anyone who happens to walk by.

Bah self moderate and delete this post so I won't have to.

[Lunarea]

I think that this concept of self-moderation and no real hierarchy will take getting used to.

Most of us are used to a forum being run and moderated by a person or a group of people. And while, depending on the place, ideas were encouraged to one degree or another, it was always up to the management to make decisions for the whole. People have joined communities because they heard the leaders (i.e management) was awesome, or left because they didn't agree with who's in charge.

Some of us have also been on the other end of that spectrum (i.e. moderators) and are probably used to dealing with certain things in private. Or perhaps we're not used to suggesting how to implement an idea unless everyone's on board.

Everyone's treading a little carefully, trying to get used to this new environment and the unique way we all run it together. It's like being on a management team, only the management team is every member and we're all equal. It's wonderful, but strange.

I think once we get into this new mindset more, we'll begin to contribute with more than just ideas. For now, though, ideas are safe. We get to test the waters and learn what others want or prefer. :-)

[Alisa_Tana]

I think its okay if ideas are slow.

As Erk pointed out yesterday when I was going thru 100 pages of vb add-ons looking for the self-modding/white-listing/child-thread stuff, that as I was pointing out other neat plug-ins we'd run the risk of getting feature happy if we put everything in.

Getting all the self-modding things put in first is important because it'll help people adjust to the idea. Then the other less important things can be done after some discussion.

Punk suggested adding some new BBCode, here (http://www.spongen.org/showthread.php?t=29), If he doesn't mind, we could make that thread about what other BBCode would be useful to formating our threads.

[Erk]

It is very weird, especially for scions of places like rmxp.org and similar forums like giantitp.com - we are sitting at the opposite end of the user moderation spectrum. It's equally hard for me to not arrange to become head admin and "run the site like it should be run". In both cases, the way we have it is way better... it's just a new style to get used to. This is another in a string of threads to remind folks not to be shy.