posted May 03, 2003 07:21 PM            

I've been lurking on Rob's boards for a couple of months, since the news first broke that these boards were going to change. It seems like a nice place, but the topics often devolve into a joke fest. Yeah, that happens here once in a while, but not to the same extent.

Rob also has too few categories right now. I mean, if the Archives regulars moved en masse to Rob's board, the single category for comics would be overwhelmed.

posted May 03, 2003 07:51 PM               

quote:

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Originally posted by NecessaryImpurity:
Batfan, I'd accuse you of being Rob, except that you use Capital Letters, and that is impossible for Rob!

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That, and I'm old enough to be his father!

quote:

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Originally posted by NecessaryImpurity:
I've been lurking on Rob's boards for a couple of months, since the news first broke that these boards were going to change. It seems like a nice place, but the topics often devolve into a joke fest. Yeah, that happens here once in a while, but not to the same extent.

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That is true, in some cases. However, I'd say the vast majority is the opposite. Especially the "deep thoughts" forum, where everything has a serious tone.

quote:

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Originally posted by NecessaryImpurity:
Rob also has too few categories right now. I mean, if the Archives regulars moved en masse to Rob's board, the single category for comics would be overwhelmed.

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By all means, overwhelm! Part of the reason I promote his boards as if I were paid is because I'd really love to have more indepth comic book conversations there. The more, the merrier.

Also, I'm sure if there was enough demand or threads, Rob would create an additional forum for archives (or whatever the request was)

posted May 03, 2003 08:01 PM               

Thanks, NI, too, for the invitation to "take over" my message board and "kick out all the Marvel people." LOL We talk about DC Comics over there in a very civil fashion! There's room for everyone who plays nice.

posted May 03, 2003 08:19 PM            

I've been poking around there and it seems like dull, uninspired wasteland. Maybe that would change with an influx of several thousand DCMB posters, but right now, it doesn't seem like the kind of place I'd want to hang out.

There are some serious posting restrictions there too. From the FAQ:

quote:

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8. Are there size limits to Posts and Signatures?
2000 is the total number of characters per post. That includes spaces and code tags and signatures. The very largest a signature can be is 1024 characters. When you create a signature, you draw from the total allotted 2000 characters. So, if your signature is 250 characters (including spaces and code tags) you have 1750 characters left to use in your post. Important Note: If you exceed the character limit you will end up with a blank page. Have fun with your signature, but bear in mind, the longer it is, the less characters you have available for your actual post.

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That's gonna put a serious cramp in our style. Add in the off-topic restictions, and there are good reasons to find a new place to hang out. Rob's own boards are one possibility, since he has forums for sports, politics, music, etc., besides one for comics. Also, you can post pictures, so we can put scans or other pictures into our posts, to illustrate a point. That would be really helpful when another "Archive Challenge" comes along, allowing everyone to see art samples that need to be identified.

posted May 03, 2003 08:30 PM            

YUCK!!!

I'm really gonna miss this place. I so appreciate the civility, maturity, and general "cleanness" of the Archives board.

posted May 03, 2003 08:45 PM               

Well...I have no problems at all setting up a completely seperate message board hosted by my Masterworks board. It's run by ezboard. It could be an exclusive home for DC Archives talk, essentially what we have here. It has an edit function, which is one good thing.

If there's a positive response, I can set it up ASAP. If not, no biggie there either.

posted May 03, 2003 09:03 PM               

Hey, NI, if you wanna volunteer to help moderate

Those familiar with ezboard know the plusses and minuses of the place- in many ways it is superior to the status quo we enjoy here, in some ways inferior. I find it to be a nice place to be, except perhaps when replying to others. (I need to investigate how to offer a better menu of options when one wants to reply to other posts.)

As far as $, I have no idea. My costs with the Masterworks side of it are relatively stable. The traffic from DC would be 2 to 3 times the Marvel side, so maybe it would go up. I dunno....there's ways around that.

posted May 03, 2003 09:13 PM            

quote:

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Originally posted by dylanfan:
How's this lookie look?
http://pub52.ezboard.com/fmarvelmasterworksfansitefrm2

Hey, NI, if you wanna volunteer to help moderate

Those familiar with ezboard know the plusses and minuses of the place- in many ways it is superior to the status quo we enjoy here, in some ways inferior. I find it to be a nice place to be, except perhaps when replying to others. (I need to investigate how to offer a better menu of options when one wants to reply to other posts.)

As far as $, I have no idea. My costs with the Masterworks side of it are relatively stable. The traffic from DC would be 2 to 3 times the Marvel side, so maybe it would go up. I dunno....there's ways around that.

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I like it alot! I sincerely say we make a real effort to get the word out here and flock to dylanfan's board before this one goes bye-bye.

Great job!

posted May 03, 2003 09:18 PM               

I can make it so only registered members can post. I have had little to no problems with my Masterworks message board on this front, as I allow unregistered members to post.

However, perhaps it would be best to be discretionary as to who posts. Registering alone doesn't discriminate, but it allows a benevolent and loving moderator to boot off people who are enemies to the amity and goodwill of comics lovers.

Just another thought

posted May 03, 2003 09:29 PM            

quote:

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Originally posted by dylanfan:
Go ahead and register.

I can make it so only registered members can post. I have had little to no problems with my Masterworks message board on this front, as I allow unregistered members to post.

However, perhaps it would be best to be discretionary as to who posts. Registering alone doesn't discriminate, but it allows a benevolent and loving moderator to boot off people who are enemies to the amity and goodwill of comics lovers.

Just another thought

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Sounds good to me. I'm in and already posted. You'll get a kick out of it, dylanfan.

posted May 03, 2003 09:38 PM               

However, please feel free to always keep Rob's place in mind, for any of the reasons I or NecessaryImpurity mentioned.

Plus, I'm sure if you emailed Rob, he'd be happy to help customize them further for you (like creating a separate board or template or moderator status, etc).

posted May 03, 2003 09:54 PM            

One is to ride out the Crisis and hope that the new version isn't too bad. Based on what I see over at the Warner Boards, we gain a little but lose a lot. I suppose it would best to see what happens before writing this off completely.

Another option is to migrate to Rob's board. We gain quite a bit, but I think we lose the tone we have on this board. Rob's board is lot freer, more relaxed, less serious. I don't see the same kinds of conversations as being possible, just because more goofing off is tolerated. Actually, the irony is that everything is tolerated on Rob's board.

A third possibility is migrate over to Gormuu's board. Many of us are already familiar with it, and is already tailor-made for continuing the kinds of conversations we have here. It has a few more plusses than current DCMB, but has trouble with quotes. I've found that to be the case at other ezboard sites too. I can live with it, though.

posted May 03, 2003 09:54 PM               

The only thing that scared me is the total unfamiliarity with Rob's board. It's scary No, seriously, one real concern I have is that our humble little home would be next to places talking about wrestling (not a big fan), women (definitely a big fan!) and video games (eh....) I guess the board would be more prone to weirdos trolling through our boards on their way to or from talking about who would win: Dusty Rhodes or Stone Cold Steve Austin.

One of the benefits about my board is that it's a closed loop. My fansite only talks about comics in general and collected editions in specific. There's very little traffic from people snooping around to start the next flame war.

I've found the inflammable nature of the DC Archives boards one of the prime reasons for its success. Good people come and stay because of it.

posted May 03, 2003 09:56 PM               

quote:

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Originally posted by dylanfan:
I've found the inflammable nature of the DC Archives boards one of the prime reasons for its success. Good people come and stay because of it.

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Dammit!!!! That should be non-flammable!!!! Stupid No Edit feature!!!!! LOL

posted May 03, 2003 10:48 PM               

quote:

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Originally posted by dylanfan:
Stupid No Edit feature!!!!! LOL

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Another feature available at Rob's

posted May 03, 2003 11:00 PM               

quote:

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Originally posted by dylanfan:
The only thing that scared me is the total unfamiliarity with Rob's board. It's scary No, seriously, one real concern I have is that our humble little home would be next to places talking about wrestling (not a big fan), women (definitely a big fan!) and video games (eh....) I guess the board would be more prone to weirdos trolling through our boards on their way to or from talking about who would win: Dusty Rhodes or Stone Cold Steve Austin.

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I can definitely relate to that, as I'm not a wrestling fan at all, myself. But don't think of it as a limiting concept, due to possible "leaking" over of other groups...

The "Hero HQ" section of Rob's boards is almost entirely independant of the rest of the forum. It is a separate forum Rob set up, specifically for a group of posters who create fantasy stories and adventures.

And, really, no one but those interested in the place post there. They're more or less left to their own, which is how they like it.

But beneficially, they're able to blow off steam by occasionally posting in, say, the deep thoughts forum or the media forum. They get the variety without losing the privacy.

quote:

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Originally posted by NecessaryImpurity:
I suppose it would best to see what happens before writing this off completely.

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Though I agree you'll more than likely be upset with the changes, you're right, waiting to see for yourself is probably the best idea.

quote:

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Originally posted by NecessaryImpurity:
Another option is to migrate to Rob's board. We gain quite a bit, but I think we lose the tone we have on this board. Rob's board is lot freer, more relaxed, less serious. I don't see the same kinds of conversations as being possible, just because more goofing off is tolerated. Actually, the irony is that everything is tolerated on Rob's board.

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It is weird, considering his moderation here

Still, though, while I agree there are the occasional joking posts and threads (and postERS), the majority of the board is very on topic to its respective forum. I've never found a problem with that. So whether you'd post in the existing comics forum or move in to a new Archives board, those choices, and threads, would be respected as such.

But, really, after all is said in done, the choice is yours to make. I don't want to come off as the pushy old salesman

Wherever you'll feel most comfortable is obviously the best place for you. It would be a shame to lose such a good grouping!

posted May 05, 2003 05:27 PM            

From what I can tell, there isn't much by way of conversation over there. Assuming the vast majority of the DC Boards posters make the jump, that particular drawback is solved. The general look isn't too far from what we have here right now. If those are the only issues, the transition should be OK.

It's the technical stuff, like the 2000-character limit on a post that has me worried. Especially when you add in the formating codes, links, and quotes, you run out of space in a hurry. Worse, according to the FAQ, if you exceed the 2000-character limit, you get a blank post. Not a truncated post, which would be halfway acceptable, but a completely blank post. NOT a friendly environment if that sort of policy is to continue.

posted May 06, 2003 12:42 AM               

Maybe we should start collecting email addresses for future reconnoitering?