Greetings Guest,
Before I begin, i'm aware some of you or even most of you wont like some of these ideas, but they are coming from a good place. I'm only trying to help
So here we go. Sarnor Everdawn's 10 steps to Revival:Step 1.) Update the ForumOhh god this is a big one. I think you guys aren't using phpbb3 if not you should.
SAVE ALL YOUR PICTURES AND CODES FIRST!!!
Step 2.) Lighten up the placeGrey/Black background is the best way for all academies, but the red text makes this place look really dark, even if it was a slightly lighter red it would look tonnes better to me
Step 3.) Group ShuffleHow many groups do you need in an academy?
- Administrator
- Moderator
- Dorm 3
- Dorm 2
- Dorm 1
- Untested
Just these really. Don't get me wrong that's slightly boring. so definitely a 4th Dorm/Group like the great abandoned dorm idea Phantom posted
https://northacademy.forummotion.com/t4241-graduation-exam#50483 You guys have founders, which I'm not opposed to at all, in fact it's probably a good idea.
The rest aren't too necessary, the only one you can argue for is Testers which I understand completely.
VIP - pointless
Tournament Organizer - Everyone should help arrange tournaments and events!!
Teachers - Surely every experienced member should help those who need help?
Affiliates - I can understand the idea but it's not necessary.
The reason for this is that it does make the chatbox look really unorganized if there's loads of colours, members should be able to easily recognize a user by their color. the less there are the easier it is
Step 4 - Glows... (and Sparkle)Here's the big one, a lot of you will disagree but I think there should be some solidarity when it comes to glows. i.e. all admins have the same glow, all mods have the same glow. Founders can have what they want I suppose. I'm personally against members having glows as it puts added importance on them when as I said in the last section, members should be able to easily recognize a user by their color.
Sparkle is just a no no, it's ugly and lags the forum.
Step 5 - WidgetsJust a small one, but they should be split more evenly
Step 6 - ChatboxI think the names in the chatbox are too big, so when there's like 8 people in chat you have to scroll down to see everyone, it should be made to be a little smaller in my opinion.
Also I think having the profile pics in chat is a nice touch, but i understand if not.
Finally, "Phantom has been disconnected on Fri 12th 00:00" looks horrible in chat, if you copy and paste the following code into a Javascript it will remove them:
- The Code:
$(window).load(function() {
var chatbox_script = function() {
$('#chatbox > p > .msg > span').filter('[style="color"],[style="color"]').closest('p').remove();
var overrided = Chatbox.prototype.refresh;
Chatbox.prototype.refresh = function(data) {
if (data.messages && data.messages.length) {
data.messages = $.grep(data.messages, function(v) {
return v.userId != -10 || $.inArray(v.msgColor, ["red", "green"]) == -1;
});
}
overrided.call(this, data);
};
};
var
s=document.createElement('script');s.text="("+chatbox_script.toString()+")();";$('object[data^="/chatbox/index.forum"],iframe[src^="/chatbox/index.forum"]').each(function(){try{$(this.contentDocument||this.contentWindow.document).find("#chatbox").closest("html").find("head").first().each(function(){this.appendChild(s.cloneNode(true))})}catch(a){}})
});
Step 7 - Staff TeamDecide how many admins you need, how many moderators you need, (how many testers you need //if applicable//) and fill the roles. that way when you recruit you will be running smoothly. Remember you don't need too many staff members when there will only be a few members at first.
But the most important thing to think about when choosing WHO is gonna be staff, they have to be people who are actually gonna help! Build good foundations before you lay the first brick
Step 8 - RecruitingDevPro is 100% easier, and if everyone does it. you can get a lot of people really quickly. it's just about commitment, and once you've done it once. make sure to come back again tomorrow and do it again! and don't worry if it's slightly inactive at sometimes. if you get them peak times busy you'll start to develop loyal members
Step 9 - TreatmentEvery academy should be in a situation where no one is banned. And everyone gets on with each other.
And it's easy to do, you just need to strike a balance. when people are being a prick in chat, warn them kick them clear chat. and at the max ban them for an hour but you should only have to do that if they continue doing something bad.
BUT what you don't want is to start getting really strict with people, just let them have fun. if it's slightly against the rules, so what? being respectful is the best way to get respect. if you are too strict, you may cause an argument in chat and that causes a really toxic academy. so treat everyone with respect especially the new members, really try to get them involved, the worst thing is when you spend ages recruiting, you test them and then they just timeout never to return again. make them want to stay!
Step 10 - Stay Active!If you're talking in chat, people will want to talk to! it's a simple system, but if you're having fun and being active. guess what everyone else will be doing? you got it! having fun and being active!
Let's do this!!!
Yours Faithfully,
Sarnor Everdawn
