New Management Structure

[smilodon]

So do I and I've said as much earlier in the thread. However I don't think there's a problem with us discussing it either.

The thread was started by Oldie asking for debate about the changes to the community structure. That's what we've done, more or less. This thread isn't a flame war and it's not particularly bad spirited. Maybe it's run it's course though?

[TeaLeaf]

As Ninja has been on holiday I think he has missed some of the existing replies, but for the sake of clarity and to answer his request I have tried to answer as best I can.

I look forward to the summary response from TL and OB.

Hmm, I think I am about to fail the 'summary' bit in an epic way.  

1. Transparency - I think this is a common theme that the community is asking for. Transparency in the fiscal or financial running of the community

We already publish every single penny of our income and expenditure. Most are well aware that we are totally open about finances here already, so I am really not sure what you mean by your comment as we already are transparent.

but also inclusion in the decisions taken on the structure changes. This can come in many forms but I was suprised to hear that the (some?) section heads didn't know the changes were coming. Might I suggest that the supporting members be involved in the process? As Smilo has said, at least giving us a voice would keep things in order.

Firstly, that's what the Community Admin role is for.
Secondly, as Penfold has already posted but I think you may have missed while on holiday, SHs were aware of the structural change over 2 months prior to the change going public.
Thirdly, I am sure you are not advocating an egalitarian corporation run by an 83 person committee as it is simply not practical. The ideal is fantastic, but in practical terms if we all take a trip together in the 'egalitarian car' then we all know it will end with a huge accident as nobody can ever agree when exactly is the right time to turn the wheel or hit the brakes!

But the principle purpose of the change was to allow us to get more members in - to allow us to put up a game server more quickly than we had previously been able to do so, to attract new players.  I think many people are missing this rationale in the discussion of all the sideline issues.
 

2. Recruitment - We all agree that we need a little more effort or perhaps structure in the way we go about recruiting or publicising dMw. I'd like to suggest that the community appoint someone for this role.

The apportionment of the work required to run this community is under constant review and that suggestion is one of a number under consideration, including discussion of whether a 'Recruitment officer' might in itself be a role too large for a single person to handle.

3. Relaxed Rules Pubs - This is a debating point as I've seen some that support the idea as through patience it can increase our numbers. The contrast however is that it goes against our ehos as a community.
 
Two things to consider.. 1. There's no rules in competitions. Relaxed rules sharpen our ability to compete.. 2. Ever notice how if we "clan-stack" that the "dMw way" tends to pwn pubbies?

Wherever members want competition the SHs support it and we provide resource for it, that goes without saying. As for the relaxed pub rules, again this is something that is debated vigorously not just now but on an ongoing basis. It has been tried before with differing success.

Overrall though the development of any individual game is the responsibility of the SH for that game, OB and I delegated that a long time ago and put the responsibility firmly at their doorstep. Off the top of my head I cannot think of a single time where the SHs have agreed a need for a gaming resource and the community has not provided. As part of a properly controlled marketing strategy yes pubs could have their place, they are not ruled out, but equally we do not want to just provide e.g. 52 free game servers for every Tom, Dick & Harry to 'eff and blind' on at our expense, there's a balance to be struck.
 

4. We all love this place and want to make it better. ...

Amen to that.
 

1. Should we consider the creation of a Board with TL or OB as Chair to ensure that through the growth the ethos remains?

That's what the announced Community Admin role does.  
 

2. Preparation and submission of an annual budget that is visable to the Supporting Members. I think that it's important for transparency purposes to see where the community's money is spent. As a qualified accountant I'd be happy to sit as treasurer and prepare the budget for the community (with the help of OB and TL of course).

I think I have already answered the second sentence so will not add to the comments already made above.

I am not really sure how you think the publication of a budget would add value for members given the fully itemised expenditure that we already publish on the forum for all members to see (which is way more than we need to do). We're not a corporation and we already have totally full and published financial data.  That having been said the Community Admins do not sit there in an ivory tower and ignore planning, we discuss many aspects including but not limited to all types of revenue & expenditure, including the anticipated, possible, contingent and other. We try to balance revenue and expenditure after allowance for sufficient reserves for reasonably expected or predictable eventualities.  

Epic failure apart, I hope the response was what you wanted.

TL.

[OldBloke]

... The thread was started by Oldie asking for debate ...

Sheesh :doh:

... Maybe it's run it's course though?

Yes, I think it has. My thanks to everyone who made a positive contribution.

What next?

The Section Admins were asked some days ago to make sure they kept up with the comments and suggestions made here. Discussions with them have already started and a summary will follow. These things take time and I ask for your patience.
This thread will remain open but before posting please take the time to ensure that you are adding new value and not just going over old ground.

Having said that, some things can be done now and all of us have a role to play.

Back to Basics

This is a gaming community. We play games together for fun and enjoyment. We don't tolerate spoilers, lamers, wreckers, potty-mouths or any form of cheating. We encourage and promote teamwork and respect. We don't make it easy but players who consistently demonstrate both are asked to join our ranks. We are different, we are special. Be proud to be part of it.

Try to get on the servers as often as you can (I did say this was 'basics' particularly if they are running as 'public'.
Use Steam/IM etc. to encourage more to join you.
Do your best to support any 'special days' announced by the Section Admins.
When a guest joins - welcome them.
Make a conscious effort to identify 'teamplayers' and congratulate them on their style of play.
If you play elsewhere then be an ambassador for dMw. Demonstrate our style at every opportunity and use comms to encourage others to use teamwork.

Admins - be firm but fair. Our guests will judge us on your actions too so do not hesitate in removing an idiot whose behaviour is spoiling the enjoyment of the rest.
 
Section Admins - do a thorough review and spring clean of your section. Do you have the right number of servers? Are they configured to best attract new people? Look carefully at your admin team. Stand-down any inactive ones and promote others as necessary. Are the forums configured right for you? Look at the content. If a guest was reading your section for the first time would they have an easy job finding out what it is you offer and how to get involved?
For any server changes - speak to Whitey. For any forum changes - speak to Penfold. If we need to increase our servers then we will and we have Gandalf to sort that out for us.

And finally ...

I know I speak for TeaLeaf when I say 'our door is always open'. Do not hesitate to PM either/both of us if you feel you need to. I can promise you a response.

[delanvital]

i just feel its all going to "end in tears", some of the posts that people have posted seem to forget that this is an online gaming community and not a business.

What NF suggests is actually not business per se. It is a common way to arrange and structure clubs, including gaming clubs. It is a proven, well-functioning structure for NGO-management.

[kregoron]

You arent really serious, that you want a more transparent financial side on the community right?

The forum leaders have for as long as i know been more then open about the financial side of the community, more then what you would expect anywhere else..

Lets face the facts, there is one way that will make the servers more attractive, playing on em, newcomers dont join a empty server.. would you join a random empty server? i wouldnt..
So instead of us sitting here making extremely creative ideas that often doesnt really solve the problem at hand, lets go play on the servers..
you can do all the PR you want, but in the end when a chap adds the IP and see a empty server, guess what he probably aint joining

About the adoption of games, whenever someone has posted about a new game would could support its been reviewed by SH's and alike, taking into considoration whether or not it could become a success, we seen it to often a server getting created 4 people joins for a night or two and it dies out.. waste of greatly appreciated free manpower certain people put into it. With the changes its just been streamlined a bit more..

Just my two cents for now, forgive me for several typos and misspellings.. a bit tired after work today

[Blunt]

You arent really serious, that you want a more transparent financial side on the community right?

The forum leaders have for as long as i know been more then open about the financial side of the community, more then what you would expect anywhere else..

Lets face the facts, there is one way that will make the servers more attractive, playing on em, newcomers dont join a empty server.. would you join a random empty server? i wouldnt..
So instead of us sitting here making extremely creative ideas that often doesnt really solve the problem at hand, lets go play on the servers..
you can do all the PR you want, but in the end when a chap adds the IP and see a empty server, guess what he probably aint joining

Nail-Head direct hit:)
Take tonight for eg. Neotokyo private session peaked early with a full server, a few drifted off at about nine, a load of people left and the game died. The only dMw's I could see were on L4D which had 8/8.

I had a bunch of visitors tonight but made the effort to attend, yet I was disappointed with the early finish.:sideways:

[Gone_Away]

Thanks to everyone for your feedback to my posts. I've discussed any remaining thoughts directly with TL and OB (including my thoughts on Financial Transparency).
 
It looks like all comments to be made have been made. I truely believe that this thread shows the maturity of it's members and I also believe that a lot will come out of it.
 
I look forward to the changes to come and the further growth of the community. I also agree with OB's "Back to Basics" comments which we must all try to adhere to.
 
NF

[Penfold]

OK anymore for anymore ?

I know some spin-off threads have started which is great but please try not to create 100's as I'm the poor sucker that'll have to sort them . I've removed the duplicated thread and stickied the rest so that people can find them. They're all in Seriously Though.

[TeaLeaf]

Just so people know, this thread is not forgotten, there is work in progress but we're kind of a little delayed due to holidays and the like.

[Gone_Away]

So.. How's it going management?
 
Which holidays were you referring to? Did I miss something?

[TeaLeaf]

Nope, a lot is linked into the new web front end which as you can see from another thread has been work in progress and is now making it onto a test website.  As for management, there's been quite a few new ones as new games develop etc, including the new Game Development section which has already seen one game go from Trial to Live, more will follow soon I hope.  A lot is still on the list atm and in progress though.

[TeaLeaf]

Test site is up and we're starting to learn our way around it.  Design and content will come once we find the 'ON' button.

[Gone_Away]

cool.. thanks for the update..

[TeaLeaf]

As people will have seen from the Announcement post, Web Content & Web Design sections are up and running and those who have volunteered to help have access to both the relevant section and the test web site.  Content work is underway & some artwork has already been submitted, so whilst it will not be a quick process, it is underway.

[TeaLeaf]

Just an update on progress.

To be brutally honest progress has sucked over the last month and I am trying to push for faster progress, but it relies on the time of volunteers of whom we had too few even after repeated requests for additional help.  We also seem to have some people who have volunteered to help but have not yet replied to the topics for whatever reason.  The net result is that we have a small group of people doing the actual work (thank you to those) rather than the larger numbers we had hoped for and this is stretching the timescale for this massive project.  I'm pushing for progress, doing some work myself, but at the end of the day there is a lot of content to re-draft, a lot of design work still to do and it is taking time.  We continue the efforts, will continue to push and will report back when the prescription medication has taken full effect........

In the mean time, if you want to pick up some redrafting work, design work, or help get stuck in then please post here and we'll allocate some work.