BARRACKS - VOTE, Custom Creators, Vote in the Barracks Polls

[Doc_Savage]

We have at least 40 people on here creating customs and the last 2 Barracks polls have only gotten 10 or so votes!!!!!!!!!!!

C'mon people!

New guys - VOTE! Post opinions. Be seen on other people's threads. If you see a custom you like and think you would let in a game, NOMINATE it!

There are a lot of threads of new guys posting and asking for feedback. Give of yourself. Participate. The Barracks thread is a great place to see a bunch of good, varied, creative customs.

Veterans - Vote!!!!

VOTE

[netherspirit]

You tell em Doc.

Should we go with P-Diddy's old voting slogan?

Vote or Die.

Maybe thats too harsh?

[Grungebob]

Originally Posted by Doc_Savage

We have at least 40 people on here creating customs and the last 2 Barracks polls have only gotten 10 or so votes!!!!!!!!!!!

C'mon people!

New guys - VOTE! Post opinions. Be seen on other people's threads. If you see a custom you like and think you would let in a game, NOMINATE it!

There are a lot of threads of new guys posting and asking for feedback. Give of yourself. Participate. The Barracks thread is a great place to see a bunch of good, varied, creative customs.

Veterans - Vote!!!!

VOTE

I voted... But I still feel guilty when reading your post.... Damn you!! :eat:

[Karkadinn]

Hmm, interesting to see that Poly got twice as many votes overall as the other two.
(Yes, I did vote in all three, nyah.)
Maybe some front page linkage would grab people's attention?

[Doc_Savage]

Originally Posted by Karkadinn

Hmm, interesting to see that Poly got twice as many votes overall as the other two.
(Yes, I did vote in all three, nyah.)
Maybe some front page linkage would grab people's attention?

I just wonder if there is the support, even among the custom community, for something like the Barracks. Maybe the polls need to last a week and be stickied for that week. And only have one stickied poll up for that week.

Would that work?

[Euryon]

Admittedly I havent commented on the last barracks nom - havent even read the thread! I do try to get involved with custom threads where I feel I have something additional to say. I know what its like when no-one comments on your stuff. But Ive had less time this week than recently, so I havent had a chance.

As for issues of lack of voting... The customs forum here goes through spats. It doesnt feel like its got the vibe I know HQ had. I think because theres a relative "old guard"; theres constant iteration to the even older guard being even greater and apparently unsurpassable in their quality; and then theres the new trickle of creators who mostly dont want to listen (in some cases), try once or twice or want others to do it for them. Though some do it the hard way and become "one of us".

Theres no actual hardcore problem... Maybe a lack of incentive or inspiration and a definite lack of community spirit, I think. Theres an undercurrent of "us and them" on the site - I dont necessarily agree that thats true, but people are more and more voicing that opinion which only goes to highlight and superficially strengthen the notion.

Anyway; I think the custom forum needs something magical. I wish Hasbro would do something nice and say "Hey, heres a competition - the best custom we think gets made into a real unit for sale, and the top 5 entries get a shedload of HS goodies!".

THAT would get some shizzle going down

[Karkadinn]

Participation always has and always will be a problem. Leaving polls up for longer and spreading them out more would let more votes in, true, but it would also slow down the Barracks nominations hugely when we already have a gargantuan backlog to go through.
I'd like to suggest a different method for getting the Barracks 'up to date,' as it were, and then going back to a slower usual method.
Here's my suggestion - To offer up whole threads of customs for induction into the Barracks, a la carte style, with people speaking up their minds on individual cards in each thread they have problems with, and only those cards mentioned as potentially problematic being brought up for a vote.
For instance, I feel that pretty much all of Truth's customs could go in with no voting. He's very consistent in his work. Others, like HEH and Nether, are less consistent in terms of thoroughness and balance, but still have enough overall quality in their cards that it's easier to point out the ones that have serious issues than it is to point out the ones that are good enough to play.
We would do this one creator at a time, with say a week's discussion being given per creator, and limit it to only to longstanding creators who are trusted by the community at large.
This does increase the risk of subpar cards getting in, but IMHO the risk is worth it because it makes the Barracks more practical and usable. Once we've gotten caught up with all the primary creators, we can go back to doing it the regular way, for new cards by those same creators or cards by lesser-known creators who may be newer or just got overlooked back in their heyday.
And I'm serious in thinking the front page should be utilized a lot more for events in general, including customs-related stuff. Matter of fact I'll talk to Truth about it.

[netherspirit]

Originally Posted by Karkadinn

but it would also slow down the Barracks nominations hugely when we already have a gargantuan backlog to go through.

There are currently only 3 nominations, not exactly a huge back log.

[Karkadinn]

By backlog, I mean the huge amount of customs that were created pre-Barracks.

[netherspirit]

Originally Posted by Karkadinn

By backlog, I mean the huge amount of customs that were created pre-Barracks.

Ah, yes. In that case you are correct sir.

[Zeek]

This thread also gives me feelings of guilt,.....and regret. I feel guilt for my inability to post much feedback on others cards. I have been driving a semi since January, and have had little access to the net until getting a phone card for my laptop recently. I made it a point to participate in the custom community back on “net,” by voting and giving constructive feedback whenever possible. My customs thread was one of the top ten most viewed custom threads on “net,” before my new job. I kept it constantly updated, and responded to each comment, thanking people even for the negative feedback. My thread on this site is pathetic. I have posted what I had up on the last site, as well as one idea that I have been unable to make a card for due to not having the proper software on my laptop. I understand your frustration at a lack of feedback. I have one card, (Knight on Omnicron mount) that I posted on “net” that got absolutely no feedback at all, good or bad, even when I asked specifically. When I posted it on this site I even said as much, and still got nothing in response. To this day nobody has ever even acknowledged that the card exists.

So…..I am sorry for my absence. I have already begun giving feedback, and voting,…..though it may remain sporadic.

I must look pretty pathetic from the outside. I don’t even get to play the game anymore, yet I am constantly thinking about it! I have even been corresponding with a company that makes resin cast bases for metal miniatures. I think I have him convinced to make proxies for us, but what I am pushing is the concept of triple and quadruple bases for larger customs. What is my problem?

[bunjee]

I'll tossed my hat into the ring on ways to improve turn out. Links. Lots of them. Simple web fact (based on usability studies) people don't like to dig around to find what they want. They want to click links. They'll click links forever in a trail of information, but when they have to go to a page, scan through a multitude of items, and don't find it on the first page, they move on.

I'm willing to help with this, but I'm making sure I'm caught up on Barracks inductions, nominations, and discussion/voting threads. Justjohn, I'll probably be adding things to post 1 of the Barracks nominations, as it currently stops at Hæther, unless this is something that you had wanted to stop doing entirely.