This forum really sucks!
@ LOAF:
You seem to be a smart guy but you'd better be dictator in a small banana republic than being forum administrator.
You threaten people
you tell them what's right and what's wrong
you insult people
you dare to tell people what to do in other forums
you really shouldn't have this job!!!
Hehe, adorable -- are you trying to get on the Vega Strike Wall of Heroes?
First, on the whole dictator thing -- on one hand, it's very, very tempting to point out the horrible problem with the analogy. That problem is that it's a completely silly thing to say that is so often repeated in this grand internet as to have become our foremost cliche. It's also entirely disrespectful, not to me but to anyone whose lives are actually somehow effected by a dictator. I'm sure you read about the concept in 5th Grade World History class and are still rubbing your back soar from pointing out how clever you are to take something that's bad in *real* life and apply it to the internet... but there's people all over the world who have to deal with actual dictators. To compare something as trivial and unimportant and nonbinding as running a message board to actual cases of terrible men murdering and killing and looting the resources of their countries is a farce when properly considered.
On the other hand, there's some truth to it.
The Chat Zone is not a democracy. I'll point that out with my dying grasp. Anyone who thinks it could or should be is an idiot. I'll spare the tired internet argument about how a republic is not a democracy either, but ultimately yes, a functional chat zone has more in common with a 'dictatorship' than it does a 'democracy'.
Lets face it, I've been elected President for Life in exactly the same way as might be a dictator. As you said, I am a smart guy, but that's probably not why I have this job. Here's the ready and easy way to your own CIC: seventy bucks for a board license, ten bucks for web hosting and some basic English ability.
So, what makes this board succesful when things like WCDC or WingCenter or WCRevival or LancersReactor with the same physical elements fall apart?
Well, again, some of the elements of a dictator -- charisma, for one. Who can doubt that I have a zany, overblown internet personality that a lot of people love and some people hate? Dedication to an ideal, too. We have a singular vision for The Way Life Should Be... and we work towards that goal rather than some elected choice. Certainly, we roll with the community... but there's various things that a "free" society might elect -- advertisements, hosting pirated games, reporting on other space sims, etc.
(On the other hand, these ideals apply just as well to the idealized head of a republic. One needs charisma nd a strong platform to be elected... so the only real difference in terms of punching each other in silly internet debates is which equally specious argument one wants to apply the same set of facts to. I don't care, personally: as the aphorism goes, you know you're doing something right online when someone calls you Hitler.)
Now, let me tell you why we fight.
Ask yourself: exactly what could vindicate this terrible thread for me? Is there anything to gain by making sport of Hellcat's cheating? Yes, there is. Last night we had non-regulars showing up in IRC throughout the night, ostensibly to shoot the shit about how dumb the Vega Strike folks are being. This single, unifying point lead to a night of talking to new people about things like editing False Colors, where the Concordia goes in the timeline, how to treat Pegasus versus Alexandria as a Pearl Harbor analogue, Action Stations as Antietam, how to create 'space weather' to make future space sims more interesting... all kinds of insanely interesting *Wing Commander* things. And the catalyst that allowed for that is that 'patriotic' feeling that they're part of the Wing Commander community and the Wing Commander community has been forced into conflict with a lesser entity that seeks to betray it. Yes, it sucks for all of Vega Strike that MKruer and company decided to bring you into this... but our choice was to either let it happen or use it as an opportunity to make our group better -- and that's a non-choice.
@ most of cruis members:
you seem to think it's your job is to give every newbie a hard time
you discuss every stupid word. honestly one better doesn't join your forum witout a lawyer!
you stupid selfunderstanding as the one and only WC fan community really sucks. If you feel so elite, just close the forum for newbies, so that the worthy gene pool doesn't become diluted... ~~~
We respect intelligence -- but we also respect spirit. Who could argue that ZFGokuSSJ or McGruff are especially bright?
The fact that I feel bad about pointing out stresses my point... being a *good* person is enough for us, we require no particular level of intelligence. Being officious, mean spirited, devoted to some crazy external ideal beyond all measure... these things will come back and hurt you here.
(Similarly, you must have a very low self esteem to complain with a straight face that you feel excluded because everyone else is smarter than you are. Buck up, pal.)
On to Klauss:
How would I go earning LOAF's respect, then?
This is a good question.
The easiest way is to be part of the community.
I have a weakness for anyone who takes the time to visit #WingNut, really, and I'll admit that here.
Beyond that, if you're someone I see partaking in everyday discussions rather than just fighting over his particular fan project then you'll certainly build respect with me. Is Quarto great because he made Standoff? No -- he's great because he participates intelligently in everyday Wing Commnader discussions. If he was just the "Standoff guy" who posted here to let us know how great Standoff was, who could love him or feel him part of the community?
Moreover, though, don't insult my intelligence. When we get six people using the same computer in rapid succession to vote for Vega Strike, immediately following a request at the Vega Strike forum requesting that people come do that, we know what's going on. There's no chance that what happened yesterday was an accident. None at all.
And you keep suggesting I voted twice.
You did not. Hellcat and others the group you are defending did.
LOAF: Just a suggestion.
Make a ruleset to avoid this kind of situation (stuffing), and publish and enforce it next year. Avoid being in a place where you have to delete votes... that's not good.
There's no problem with deleting votes when they're clearly fraudulently made. If we just magically killed them without explaining ourselves, sure -- but we've been very clear to post what's going to happen.
And once again, this comes down to our community being smarter than others... we don't *need* a rule (though one may be on the books from previous years) saying that you can only vote once. The poll went fine save for one external group.
