Our devoted silent following...

[Hauksbee 103]

This morning as I scanned our Combat Ace index page, I was struck by the disparity 'tween Replies, and Views. Replies are modest in number, but Views are nearly all in the hundreds. Which tells me that we have a following; numerous, but silent. Admittedly, some of that number is just us Repliers checking in to follow a topic, and some are probably lurkers trying to avoid buying a round at the BOC; some may even be agents of the Kaiser keeping a weather eye on us. But that still leaves quite a few unaccounted for. So c'mon, you lot! Let's hear from y'.

[Dutch_P47M 9]

Thats why, I think it is so important to reorginize this OFF3 forum, make it more inviting to hop in and join a discussion. We made here lots of samples for an decent WOFF UE forum layout. I still can not understand why the forum owner is so blind, something has to be done and fast.

 

 

edit: what is an BOC

Edited May 9, 2017 by Dutch_P47M

[Olham 164]

You can count me double - on some days, I can't even remember that it's me...

[Dutch_P47M 9]

@Olham, did read you are not active into Woff anymore, what are you playing lately?

[jeanba 1,920]

I am a silent follower, but honnestly, I would like to have more to say about OFF, but I don't find anything :(

[Hasse Wind 46]

SimHQ nearly makes my eyes bleed, so I've been hanging around here instead.

 

However, the devs are there and I don't think they're going to switch forums anytime soon, so it's inevitable that most activity will also take place at SimHQ.

[JFM 18]

What Hasse said: The Official forum is going nowhere. Plus, every forum I've ever been on has WAY more viewers than posters. Look at the "Reports from the Front" over at SimHQ WOFF forum. 85,623 views and 469 posts. That's ca. 0.005 percent of posts to views. But no reason we can't post in both places as one's mood dictates. I usually find Hauksbee over here posting various stuff--like this thread, for instance. 

[Hauksbee 103]

Dutch_P-47M: I can't see that the forum Owners have anything to do with this. They just provide space. We do the rest.

 

Hasse Wind: I agree that SimHQ can make your eyes bleed. Recently they added avatars. Didn't help a bit. And WOOF will never be back. Ever.

 

JFM: It is true that Views always outnumber Replies. What struck me this morning was how many Views we're getting. On Day #2 of WOFF going to SimHQ there seemed to be a mass exodus that left a vacuum in its wake. I kept looking to see if 'Combat Ace' feeling would simply make the move with our old friends. It has not. The wit and banter, and miscellaneous WWI info evaporated. As far as I can see, most old friends also disappeared. And a whole raft of new names suddenly appeared. Where had they been? But...somebody's stopping by.

Edited May 9, 2017 by Hauksbee

[JFM 18]

My interest is more in what someone posts, not who posts it. This place has been especially stone-cold-boring for a long time. SimHQ has been better, but lately it's catching up. So I don't post much. Although this place is getting somewhat better, at least with your threads, Hauksbee. 

 

I used to post a lot of misc stuff on flight sim fora, lots of photos, etc., but there didn't seem to be much interest.   So, I stopped. For miscellaneous WW1 info, go to http://www.theaerodrome.com/forum/forumdisplay.php?f=6  Just a click away! Not as if we have to walk there. 

[+Erik 1,812]

Thats why, I think it is so important to reorginize this OFF3 forum, make it more inviting to hop in and join a discussion. We made here lots of samples for an decent WOFF UE forum layout. I still can not understand why the forum owner is so blind, something has to be done and fast.

 

 

edit: what is an BOC

 

Because my Braille translator is out getting fixed. 

 

Could you be more specific about what I'm blind and incompetent about?

 

Without slogging through my almost life ending drama from five plus years ago that caused a blackout for twelve days things since haven't been the same in this forum. Our uptime before and after that incident was and is flawless and I've repeatedly offered to be involved in the re-migration and help anyway I can. I hate more than anything that every other post here is a link to SimHQ with little to no content but what can I do? If the guys that hang out here weren't so incredibly awesome I probably would have closed the doors long ago. They and my commitment to the aviation community are the only reasons the doors remain open. I have and do stand ready to be involved at whatever level the community needs to which as of today I thought was simply to be left alone and free of my involvement. I have never given up on any of you and my PMs and this forum remain open exactly for that reason. If the WOFF community decided to come back they'd be welcome with open arms as if they'd never left and their moderators still retain all their abilities.

 

I look forward to a constructive review of my inabilities.

 

-Just me E  

[JFM 18]

Things are what they are with OBD. But I appreciate you keeping this place open despite their move. Life is cyclical and maybe this forum is on the way up. If you are going to close something, get rid of the Down in Flames forum. There hasn't been a post in there for seven years (ironically, by Dutch_P47M). It doesn't bother me that the forum is there, but why? It and the sim it discusses (which was never released) are deader than Kelsey's nuts. 

[+Erik 1,812]

Things are what they are with OBD. But I appreciate you keeping this place open despite their move. Life is cyclical and maybe this forum is on the way up. If you are going to close something, get rid of the Down in Flames forum. There hasn't been a post in there for seven years (ironically, by Dutch_P47M). It doesn't bother me that the forum is there, but why? It and the sim it discusses (which was never released) are deader than Kelsey's nuts. 

 

I don't remove content unless specifically directed to by the forum leaders but in this case since it appears to be a thorn I've removed the sub-forum. Now Dutch is going to be pissed when he never receives a reply to his question so Dutch see JFM for the information.

 

Sorry to hear about Kelsey and his dry fruit.

 

E

[Hauksbee 103]

I used to post a lot of misc stuff on flight sim fora, lots of photos, etc., but there didn't seem to be much interest. 

Jim...please resume your posting. You have a terrific library of WWI history.

[Hauksbee 103]

... I've repeatedly offered to be involved in the re-migration and help anyway I can.

First...has it really been five years? Time is flying faster than it used to.

 

I don't see why you feel "every other posting" is a link to  SimHQ. (Even tho' I, myself, just posted one not long ago)

 

You said, in your post above, "I have and do stand ready to be involved at whatever level the community needs to which as of today I thought was simply to be left alone and free of my involvement." I, for one, would welcome your involvement at any level, tho' upon re-reading, you seem to entertaining the notion that OBD might be lured back. I find that improbable in the extreme, and even if they did, it wouldn't be the same. I think, if we have a future, it will mean re-building the membership from scratch. But you know more than us the dynamics of website management. Is there anything you think we should be doing?

[+Erik 1,812]

Most recent posts in these forums are links to content elsewhere and "most" may be an over exaggeration of the facts since I'm hyper sensitive to such things. For every link you provide to SimHQ on our site that link back to them from here it promotes them and degrades us in search engine ranking. In non-technical terms it's much like stolen valor. Hence, my un-appreciation for such things. It's unfortunate but I'm not going to sabotage your community by forbidding it or pulling our content.

 

I have no vast illusions and I'm not trying to lure anyone. If you guys want to use the services here great. The door is open since it was never closed. I think we can be more flexible with your needs, provide more services, have a higher search index (explains the traffic count) and do it all in a cohesive manner but those are my opinions and it's why they make chocolate and vanilla ice cream. I've enjoyed having you all here and have done what I could when I could free of charge with no strings attached.

 

As far as membership is concerned you guys have to decide what you want to do. Pick a leader. Start posting information that traffic wants to see. It's your community and ultimately I can't do everything. I handle paying the bills, handle all the equipment and technical issues, and take care of the day to day which provides the things you guys need for your community to flourish.

 

Anything else you'd like for me to do to help you in your quest please let me know.

 

As for my response the OP I quoted made it sound as if I was sitting on my hands and solely responsible for the state of affairs the OFF community is in. I wanted to set the record straight.

[Dutch_P47M 9]

Because my Braille translator is out getting fixed. 

 

Could you be more specific about what I'm blind and incompetent about?

 

Without slogging through my almost life ending drama from five plus years ago that caused a blackout for twelve days things since haven't been the same in this forum. Our uptime before and after that incident was and is flawless and I've repeatedly offered to be involved in the re-migration and help anyway I can. I hate more than anything that every other post here is a link to SimHQ with little to no content but what can I do? If the guys that hang out here weren't so incredibly awesome I probably would have closed the doors long ago. They and my commitment to the aviation community are the only reasons the doors remain open. I have and do stand ready to be involved at whatever level the community needs to which as of today I thought was simply to be left alone and free of my involvement. I have never given up on any of you and my PMs and this forum remain open exactly for that reason. If the WOFF community decided to come back they'd be welcome with open arms as if they'd never left and their moderators still retain all their abilities.

 

I look forward to a constructive review of my inabilities.

 

-Just me E  

 

First of all I'm not an English speaker, so things could be explained rather different, while for some it all sound rather rude, never did write down you are an incompetent guy btw, only blind for things that are changing and need therefore attention.

Only if you are happy to run into a dessert forum for WoFF, I would advice, keep on and do not change.  I still think this forum is in my case always being trouble free and do like this much more than the official Simhq forum. Moving was a bad choice from OBD, so it's hurting me, that once so crowded forum is fading away. Something we have to do, to stop this, right guys???  

 

Now to the explanation for you:  

Clean up the whole OFF section, why,  because now it is not inviting for a newcomer ,  if nearly all of the 10 sections do have a last posting from 2015/2014/2013/2012 and within all the sections most of the pinned topics have links that are not working or obsolete. Yeh it is strange, but if a site looks crowded, links are working and decent pinned topics, more views and reactions are entering the forum.  

 

We have put in a couple samples on how to do this, Hellshade and others with all different point of view.  I know they will react, so letts start with Dutch POV. 

 

OK here we go the easy way:  I would personally, merge the 10 sections with the last activity dating from 2015 to one section as a read only history.  So that is counting now for 8 sections and the general and help sections would be open. In that two left ones I would also take a close look at the pinned posts; is it still actual or are the links working.

 

The best solution would be moving to the WW1 section WoFF UE [and not OFF] besides FE and RoF. But this could be for most WoFFers a bridge too far I guess.

Edited May 10, 2017 by Dutch_P47M

[+Erik 1,812]

I will be happy to use the advice from the moderators of this forum to rename, move, or otherwise manage the forums for better use. I do not know what you need so therefore it needs to come from someone who does.

 

As for merging older posts and changing them to read only content ... I'm not sure I understand the need for this. Pruning happens on boards where the resources of the machine need to be freed up. We do not need to prune for that reason. All our topics are generated in chronological order so if new posts are what's needed then by all means post away. The boards here will keep up with your demand.

 

We don't prune old posts for another very important reason. Research and history. This is a community wide philosophy because answers come from posts 2 days old and 2 years old. We believe in protecting that asset.

 

I don't know about moving OFF to a sub-category of WWI. OFFers have always wanted to be set apart and NOT lumped into a group with other sims. This may have changed but that was the last take I had on it.

 

As a recap most of this stuff your moderators can already do. I do hope they will keep with our philosophy of preserving history when they do. If they need a course in managing their tools for this board I will be happy to help them with that. They have a staff forum where any questions or concerns can be posed.

 

E

[JFM 18]

I'll be around more, Hauksbee. Actually, I always checked here and usually heard crickets and saw tumbleweeds. But lately I've seen your efforts to post something, and I think it's creating a little life. Certainly better than before. Maybe it will grow into something new? I'll participate. I think I'm going to start a thread for Albatros fan bois, like Olham, Elephant, me, etc. 

 

Erik, will there be a Wings Over the Reich forum here eventually, even if not "official," after OBD starts releasing WIP content updates, screenshots, etc?

[+Erik 1,812]

You guys can do whatever you like. If you want a Two Eggs Over My Hammy section it can be done. My point is feel free to create.

[Olham 164]

Dutch, I am recently playing NAVAL ACTION (BETA VERSION).

I'll come back to flying some day, but I'm not one who can immerse into two games parallel.

 

 

Thats why, I think it is so important to reorginize this OFF3 forum, make it more inviting to hop in and join a discussion. We made here lots of samples for an decent WOFF UE forum layout. I still can not understand why the forum owner is so blind, something has to be done and fast.


edit: what is an BOC

 

What do you find wrong here? I prefer it twenty times above the other forum.

Far better layout, easier to handle, and I can attach more images.

 

I don't think Erik or anyone was "blind" (or deaf rather?) to our desires - there simply was no one here for quite some time.

With the exception of tireless Hauksbee (who should receive a reawrd for reviving it) and a few others.

But if you have ideas, tell them here - Erik will soon get his Braille translator back from the repair.

 

The BOC is the "Barmy OFF(ic)ers Club.

You must be real barmy (and prove it!) to be accepted as a member.

[Dutch_P47M 9]

What do you find wrong here? I prefer it twenty times above the other forum.

Far better layout, easier to handle, and I can attach more images. 100% Right and do not forget the date of the posting can be readable here. 

The whole problem is that from the 10 sub forums 8 are dead and from most of the pinned post the links are dead or the info is obsolete!!!!! If you want more actief member you need to reduce the dead subforums. 

I know for some this is nostalgic from the OFF days but if you want more crowded forum, I still think you need a simple plain forum with 3 sub sections [general, help and only readable OFF3 archive, thats contain all the 8 desert sub forums, merged together.     

 But hell its is only a proposal, I'm not the owner of this site, so keep on, if you are happy with amount of actief poster here at the OFF forum. 

 

I don't think Erik or anyone was "blind" (or deaf rather?) to our desires - there simply was no one here for quite some time. already explained the cause of this, right now the OFF forum it is not  inviting to join. 

With the exception of tireless Hauksbee (who should receive a reawrd for reviving it) and a few others.  

But if you have ideas, tell them here - Erik will soon get his Braille translator back from the repair.

 

The BOC is the "Barmy OFF(ic)ers Club.

You must be real barmy (and prove it!) to be accepted as a member.

Did sell my OFF3 so I geuss I'm more an Barmy Woffers Club member :-)   

Edited May 12, 2017 by Dutch_P47M

[+Erik 1,812]

It sounds like 95% of what you need is for the moderators to do some housekeeping. Maybe the OFF moderators need to reach out so we can go over the moderation tools they have their disposal?

 

E

[Hauksbee 103]

It sounds like 95% of what you need is for the moderators to do some housekeeping. Maybe the OFF moderators need to reach out so we can go over the moderation tools they have their disposal?

Erik: Here's a suggestion for Housekeeping. I've felt, for a long time, that Pinned Topics were crowding the opening page here at Combat Ace. Here's my suggestions for those to RETAIN, and those to DELETE.

 

(1) RETAIN...WOFF Screenshotsand Videos

(2) RETAIN...OFF Forum Pilots Maps

(3) DELETE...Graphics SetUp: An Easy Pictorial Guide

(4) RETAIN...Screenshots, Videos. Media, OFF Posters

(5) DELETE...WOFF: Reports From the Front

(6) DELETE...OFF Campaign "DID" Standard, etc.

(7) DELETE...OFF BHaH Reports from the Front

(8) DELETE...No More Big Holes in the Screenshot/Videos Section

(9) DELETE...OFF PHASE 4 PREVIEW MOVIE 1

(10) DELETE..PHASE 4 DEVELOPMENT SCREENSHOTS

(11)..RETAIN..OFF General Help Topics

[Hellshade 110]

Erik: Here's a suggestion for Housekeeping. I've felt, for a long time, that Pinned Topics were crowding the opening page here at Combat Ace. Here's my suggestions for those to RETAIN, and those to DELETE.

 

(1) RETAIN...WOFF Screenshotsand Videos

(2) RETAIN...OFF Forum Pilots Maps

(3) DELETE...Graphics SetUp: An Easy Pictorial Guide

(4) RETAIN...Screenshots, Videos. Media, OFF Posters

(5) DELETE...WOFF: Reports From the Front

(6) DELETE...OFF Campaign "DID" Standard, etc.

(7) DELETE...OFF BHaH Reports from the Front

(8) DELETE...No More Big Holes in the Screenshot/Videos Section

(9) DELETE...OFF PHASE 4 PREVIEW MOVIE 1

(10) DELETE..PHASE 4 DEVELOPMENT SCREENSHOTS

(11)..RETAIN..OFF General Help Topics

 

+1.  

[+Erik 1,812]

This is my point exactly.

 

 

You have the power friend. All the tools for doing just those things are at your disposal. If you need help using them let me know by PM.