Restoring the ATG's former Glory

[Saverio C.]

Shram

once was.

Hey ******** you buddy. I'm still the biggest and best a*****e around here!

When I first joined there wasn't just threads on the first page. There were games and stuff that didn't force me to just jump into the community. I think having a few games on the front page would be a good idea. A better ice breaker then the phunkin.  

[Erverain]

You know, it's kinda funny but I actually started in the subforums. I didn't feel comfortable enough around you guys until after I was pretty much dragged into the Phunkeh by another person. Of course, a lot of the people from that time are rarely on now, save the few regulars like Sav, Pancake, Sanzo, Jaft, Shram, Jimmy, and I think there were more that were practically a permanent fixture around here. Perhaps I'm just odd, that period of observation and experimentation in the subforums really actually helped speed up the immersion into the guild. While I'm sure that many newbies would not appreciate a subforum just for them (they might look at it as a sort of detox or n00b tank), the idea of having a place to work with ideas and people that, like themselves, are new to the guild would be be beneficial. Of course, we could have older members run in and out of the subforum every so often to make sure things won't go out of hand, and it would provide a link for the newbies and the oldbies. Sort of like with fish. You don't just toss them in the tank right away, you set up a staging station of sorts, so that they become accustomed to the new waters.
...I may have been saying nonsense up to now. This seems to be the most I've written in quite some time in this guild...  

[Sentama Lin]

I think the problem for me -- and possibly many other people -- is that real-life things have changed.

For the people unaware I've essentially severed my most-significant ties with my family. I can no longer rely on them for support and it's been really hard to support myself because of all the sh*t that my mother has put me through that, to be honest, I can't (and shouldn't) have to recover all by myself because it wasn't my doing in the first place. And it's not just me having real problems in the real world; so many others have problems too. And, likewise, many are posting in here for solace.

While I would do that as well, I understand that there are people who need a place where their problems won't need to be discussed; a place where they can just have fun. That's what the guild was to me when I wasn't so messed up and it's what I wish it would be during this time where I spend almost fifty percent of my nights crying alone, spending about 20 USD in food every two weeks, and barely having enough to pay for things, and still explaining to the banks, the schools, and the credit card companies why I can't pay them and rehashing the same story every day.

Everyone just has so many problems and it saddens me almost every time I see someone going through the same thing not only because I feel even more helpless that I can't help them (Internet solace doesn't do much, I'm afraid, since saying 'I'm sorry' is so easy) but because I can't enjoy the guild now that I'm concerned, once again, with my issue and now everyone else's issues.

I guess... What I've lost is an environment that was free of worries for a short while. Sure, there was drama back then in the old days, but not as much as now. I know I don't need drama right now in my Internet solace because I suffer from enough drama in the real world. It's... why I don't seem as kind as I used to be, or as social, or as happy, or as everything...

That's my thought on the matter...  

[Jafthasleftthebuilding]

Iz good. =w=  

[Erverain]

Isn't it funny that after so short a time we are running dry on ideas? We could very well be mirroring the ATG as a whole, albeit on smaller scale. What happened to our enthusiasm?  

[Jafthasleftthebuilding]

I'm the most ignorant one here, because as of now, I feel that guild is doing fine. =w=

I really could use ERROR FREE moderator powers and that would make my job 100 times easier and less frustrating.  

[Blade_With_A_Name_On_It]

personaly, i think that members should engage new-comers in the forums. if they comment, members should reply to them. if someone seems confused maybe an older member could talk to them to explain, or if they are making mistakes about whats going on you could send them a pm. also, if a new member does something wrong, don't yell at them. just point it out, but don't be abnoctious(sp?) about it or they'll respond in kind and start a big argument ending in "you're stupid, stfu && gtfo, you n00b" plus, if you have an attitude either they will leave the guild or you will. and nobody wants that.  

[Elcia]

aretoo

Hm... True words about Phunkeh being the backbone and bane... however, I at least read the other topics. Whether or not I say anything about the topic depends on whether or not I feel I have anything I can add to the topic. smile

I do this often and then find myself lurking and feeling like there are no good threads to go to sometimes.
But I don't like to post about something I know nothing about, have no opinion worth voicing or just don't like the topic XP

Edit: Blade that sort of thing fortunately happens infrequently (from my experience) in this guild.  

[Elcia]

Some of what I've read has been really great thinking and writing ^_^ that makes me happy.
Loved Erv's "Mighty Civilization" analogy and the King one.

Let me point out things and make critiques
Don't take it the wrong way because I'm realizing that I'm starting to sound a little hopeless and negative here >< I just want to lay out problems before we decide to do things that won't actually help.


1. When I joined 3 years ago I spent about two three months just lurking. True I was busy with school but I hadn't found my jump in point and in all truth I'm rather shy. And true the "family" was just beginning to come together.
So I don't think it is possible for everyone to feel right at home the first night. And we can't actually do anything for that, it is up to the new comer to give us a chance too.

2. I myself think about what I type and generally mean every word I put down. My very first post for instance, true the wikki is out of date and only recently put up on the guild home page, but sometimes it will be helpful enough for things like who Jimmy is.
Others do not always do this however so we also have to be careful not to preach to the wrong crowd. Certain members do need to realize their flaws and work against them and some of the new people if they want to know things will have to do some research.
It's give and take for all of us.

3. Inside jokes are a problem even for oldies who happened to not have been there at the time. But people tend to cling to things so they wont be going away.

4. Again, some people know better than others when enough is enough. But not everyone needs to be reminded of the old "If you have nothing nice to say don't say anything at all" But again we don't want to pick people out.

So the issue of people's general interaction skills which is main problem here has to be addressed but also treated diplomatically. At present I don't have any pointers for that I myself avoid certain members like the plague so that I don't get angry out here. I might decide to post something I'd regret later when it turns into an avalanche.

I live by the "leave the war at the door" mentality but not everyone will.

5. Kals mentioned the IRC etc some people wont want/cant get involved in those things for various reasons. And frankly I've heard of a lot of trouble being caused by the IRC. So that might depend on the person.
And the Free Art thread is a tricky thing. It requires time and at least some talent and people will have issues with either or both.

6. The mod list ( just noticed it the other day) looks great and I hope is very helpful even to introduce you guys. New people really should try to latch onto one of you if they feel like then need some support.


And bad spelling can be fixed by the poster (with some help from Firefox etc. or a word program) and can usually be forgiven if it is not rampant.



I stopped at Ala's wall of text and I'll continues from there after a rest >< sorry for the double post.