The End Is Nigh......But So Is A New Beginning!

[Coolpikaaa]

Whew.... That was a long convo.

..Oh Hi!

Coolpikaaa here, just to say that I have recently found out some VERY juicy details about the future of the Dojo. I have saved such details for a neat and tidy press conference later today, so If you all would report to your nearest shuttle and fly up to the CSS-

*Swarm!*

...Fine! Fine! I will reveal all, right here, right now. ...Stupid swarms of angry people, I never get my shameless plug....

First of all, I indeed have spoken to our brave and fearless leader, DP. The reason he hasn't been around lately, is that he has recently found a new job. This of course is an awesome thing, as he no longer needs to fret about money issues again, but has left him with a rather full plate. I filled him in as much as I could about our current state, and he has proposed the following five step plan.

1. Get a new Dojo.

We all have to admit, things are bad here. DP has suggested we cut our losses and start completely anew. A brand new Dojo, here at our current address, but missing in our history.

"But Coolpikaaa! Doesn't that mean we will lose all our old RPs and discussions?!"

Very nice question, kind sir in the back! DP has proposed that instead of deleting THIS board we move it to something along the lines of " old.blackstardojo.org ". This allows us to have the old stuff to look at, but also a new world without clutter.

Of course, the issue is raised about what this new Dojo will be like. In order to distance ourselves from making the same mistake twice, the new Dojo is planned to have only the basics. Announcements, and general chat and the like, then just the Wilds as *THE ONLY* RP board. User boards and everything else will become just a thing of the past. It was also suggested that perhaps The Corrupted Cave will become the "games" place and I am fairly OK with that.


2. Appearance.

The new Dojo will be on the new PHBB 3, which we planned to do a while back, but that means we will lose our current skins. DP has provided a link to a list of the skins we can pick from, along with some suggestions. The top bar will be replaced with our current one, so it isn't too much of a shock. He also mentioned he doesn't want anything too white, just as a heads up.

List:
http://www.phpbb.com/styles/demo/3.0/

Some suggestions he had:
http://www.phpbb.com/styles/demo/3.0/?style_id=175
http://www.phpbb.com/styles/demo/3.0/?style_id=425

Also try and find something similar to what we have right now. It would help out a lot.

3. Advertise, ADVERTISE, ADVERTISE!

This is fairly self-explanatory. Once we have a new home, we need new RPers. Go to every site you can and link the heck out of it! Get as many people as possible! Don't just talk to friends you know or something, at this point we need people to go beyond the call of duty.

4. Errrm.....

Wait...what was the other ones? I think I covered it all....

5. OHRIGHT!

Massive celebration! Once we get everything moved and voted on, and newbies flowing through the doors, we can finally get back into the spirit of things and hit up some MAJOR RPing.


That is mostly it! We aren't deserted, DP has a plan, and everything is going to be FIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIINNNNNNNNNNNNNEEEEE!


*EPIC APPLAUSE*




Everyone's most swarm-able messenger guy,
-CP

[3kul]

Interesting post CP, glad to hear that somebody's managed to get in touch with DP.

Obviously the conversation is over so I can't exactly add my opinion in real-time, but I'll post here anyway.

[drlupinmario]

Ignore the lies of Atlas and his Parasites.


Blackstar will Rise Again...

[Raven]

I, personally, love this idea! To tell the truth, one of the reasons that I stopped frequenting and posting on Blackstar was due to the reason that it was so big. If I wanted to find a role play, I'd have to scour through many, MANY forums, and frankly, all the different sub-sections confused me.

'Fraid I'm not of the intellectual group that can keep track of many things at once, nor do I have the time to do so.

3Kul's idea of Old Blackstar/New Blackstar is a good idea. We could even have ruins and explore them for treasures or long lost machinery or experiments! =D

If anyone is good at Spriting, we could maybe have a more unique theme, like our current one. I must say, however, that Green and Gold wouldn't be my ideal colours. >_>;

To Dr Lupin Mario, however, you are right. Blackstar will rise again. Like a phoenix from it's ashes, it shall be reborn (hopefully if all goes to plan) and begin a new life, as a new creation, with a better, less confusing and complicated layout!

Oh, one question, however.
If we just spam on forums, won't we attract just a bunch of spammers?

Or should we choose select people, lurk around RP sites and PM them?

[Coolpikaaa]

I like your idea of having selected individuals Raven. However I still think *a bit* of spamming might be necessary. We want as much people as possible right? But if you see select few you really like, sure, go for it!

And 3kul, since when was the Cave *private* ? It mostly has been used for games lately, and plus, you don't exactly have CP-proof security. How many times have I just happened to wander in?

And good on you DLM!

I shall try to get a hold of DP to tell you guy's ideas.

Keep `em coming!

-CP

Edit: Nice Idea with the Old Blackstar being visitable RP wise. I just want to repeat that DP had the idea of moving this broken old board to a new home at " old.blackstardojo.org " for RL purposes.

[Maraha]

Oooooh, I'm all for this! c:

... I can't really think of much more to say. <v<'

[LordPsycho]

Now Luke, was the CC ever really yours, or where you just renting it from the Evil Angel in exchange for a fresh supply of grunt/food every month?

All said, those aren't CP plans, they are mine.

[drlupinmario]

Well Crunchitize Me Captain, Its DP!

I was going to do a little trolling, creating an alt account of Atlas (Gee, havent any of you played Bioshock? Seriously? Game of the year '07 I belive) and have him say that he never started any rumors of this place being dead or anything.

In any case, I do have one request, and that is to get our chatroom. Also, in terms of theme I personally do NOT want something WOW-related. Especailly since its being tossed over to the furrys (Blame the upcoming expansion adding the "Worgon" Furry race. There is nothing I hate more then furrys, And I would love to list WHY, but due to the nature of content I cant. Sorry)

[Chronos]

I like the idea of rping our way into the new world. It just doesn't seem right to cut the cord outright. Also, it should be the best rp ever (maybe with an ending already concocted?). Maybe this is silly, but I like it.

[3kul]

[Coolpikaaa]

I'm sorry 3kul if I came off that way. I really don't have anything against the EC, and I am not fueled by some sort of "team rage". :/

What I meant is that currently, the CC is being used as a games forum with the occasional RP. As it has now become public, I thought you guys probably would have made it stay that way.

I agreed that I was ok with that plan, as that is the way it is now, and since nothing changed, it seemed pretty fair to me. Sorry for having my own voice in there.

Just the messenger boy,
-CP

[Swix]

I have little else to say except that I agree with everything 3kul just said.
Oh and the epic RP for moving would be awesome *looks at her small army of chars*... perhaps not so much for them.

[Coolpikaaa]

What I gathered it that it would be the games room.

I...don't know what else to say.

-CP

[Swix]

That's ok, I don't mean to shoot the messenger CP *puts down gun* not today, anyway.

It's not your fault, after all

[Cirrial]

Feel a bit silly not posting sooner. I've been tracking this development for the past couple of days through a mobile device but never thought to stop and actually comment on this recent chain of events. Now I've got a ton of catching up and addressing to do.

With Regards To The Recreation

I cannot state just how much I'd prefer the abandoning of this forum for a fresh slate. Y'know how I kept saying things were going to change once I got to grips with the system? Let's just say when a forum goes on for a few years the clutter it amasses behind the scenes is intimidating to say the least.

And as the item/medal admin (hahaha like I've been keeping on top of those particular duties recently x_x) I pledge that if a satisfactory item and/or medal system can't be found for PHPBB, I'll start working on one. ...I'm saying this as someone who barely understands PHP, let alone the complex workings of PHPBB3, so I'd put this promise in the same sort of standing as my promise to clean up this current forum.

As for the abandoning of the RP setting in favour of mass emigration, hey, wasn't the world originally starting to decay due to the death of Au'Marui? Perhaps, despite its stability returning, its inhabitability is falling to the point it drove the Whitestar Regime up to attempt to correct the situation.

Perhaps the efforts of the Whitestar Regime will be the first and final actually successful invasion of Blackstar, forcing the survivors to flee to a new Blackstar as the old one continues to crumble. ...but this is just idle speculation. (Although on a roleplay forum, where the nature of reality bends to the will of its users, speculation can very easily become the actual outcome)

All I know is I personally have no qualms with the relocation of the RP setting, as it gives me an excuse to axe some of my unused characters, reinvent ones I want to keep using (or give new motives/added backstory), and maybe throw in some new ones too.

With Regards To The Corrupted Cave

I'm backing the EC members here. I know it's a subforum on the forum owned by DP, but the EC and its history is not the entire property of DP. Personally, I think it'd be best to just leave the Corrupted Cave out entirely rather than debase it to the level of a games room. I know we seemingly have two games room forums, but if you think of the forum's past, that's because the CC used to be specifically private to the EC members on Blackstar. The blurring's only occured due to the decision to make the CC subforum public.

I'd add something here about complaining if the Somewhat Bland Tower That Floats was repurposed without my permission/consultation, but I find myself unable to care that much about that particular subforum. (making it entirely successful in its intended purpose of promoting apathy - maybe it's been too successful :X )

With Regards To The Prospect Of Advertising And Marketing

AHHHHHHHHHHHH.

AHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH.

KILL IT. KILL IT.

Seriously, though, I know I have far too much of an elitist streak to treat this as open-mindedly as I should, but the idea of throwing adverts onto random forums with only the mention of it being a "roleplay forum" conjures up the following horrifying visions. Legions of uncreative "recolour" characters ripped off popular media with a few flavour changes and as much depth as a piece of paper, spelling and grammar from purportedly-native-English-speakers/writers that renders an otherwise passable chunk of text illegible, and powerplay that makes characters batting a large sun around like a tennis ball seem quite mild in comparison.

But like I just said, I have an irksome elitist streak I've been doing my best to excise. And what few members that have been on Blackstar and exhibited this sort of behaviour have very quickly stopped said behaviour before. (No, I am not naming any names. No, if you're reading this, I don't mean you. If you're still here now on this forum and reading this, you're pretty much respected by me. This is basically a rant against people who have probably long since left anyway.)

I also should probably mention that of all the RP sites I've ever been on, this is the sole one that's survived more than a month, so I don't actually even know of any places where one would begin advertising. (I swear if any of you mention Gaia I am going to stick my fingers in my ears and scream until the words stop. I may be being unfair with its reputation but still... hey if this outlook offends you i did try to make it harder for you to even see it how's your copy-pasting or zooming skills these days pretty good i see) Shame, because one of them had such promise too. :/

Anyway, if we have informative enough guidelines, like I believe (or hope) we do now, most of these problems will basically be addressed pre-emptively. The users that take the time to at least give the rules and guidelines a cursory glance will do well in the future Blackstar as they do now. The users that ignore them entirely or ignore any attempts at constructive criticism or advice will stand out more.

And just to add, no, I don't frown on any and all characters inspired by popular media so long as there's some kind of originality behind it. Basically, if you can take such a character and ignore that character's link to the media it was derived from, then it has enough depth to stand on its own, in my opinion. Mary Sue characters, however do not redeem themselves through added depth if said depth can be summarised as "this is why my character is at least twenty times more awesome than yours can ever hope to be".
...I am going wildly off-topic now, as well as descending into either further eccentricity or outright insanity, which leads nicely to the next section.

With Regards To The Everything Else And Sort Of Off-Topic

Yes, I've played Bioshock, DLM. I never did bother going through the Proving Grounds, though. The minute the game decided to throw an escort mission at me well after the dramatic climax with Ryan had already passed, I kind of lost interest.

As for spriting, I don't have the time or skill to make an entire new theme for Blackstar, unfortunately. I haven't pixelled in what must be about a year now. To say I'm rusty would be a massive disservice to good, honest rust around the world. I'm more like an inert bar of metal with no joints at all at this point. Now, the odd item or medal sprite, I can handle that in small doses. If the item system wasn't so royally broken right now, I would have been working on the queue I so ungracefully abandoned months ago.

Ooo, themes to choose from! ProSpace seems more of an EC theme than a Blackstar theme, and Celtic Dreams seems a tad colourless. Dark Fantasy is pretty good, though.

I object to the WoW Moonclaw style on the principle that I've seen it used on a lot of guild forums - do you really want the first impression of Blackstar being a guild forum? (No, I don't play WoW, I just have friends who do/did.)

Why does the GuildWarsAlliance theme look so familiar? Is there another forum on this site that has it? Or something similar?

I'm not going to propose any themes I feel would be suiting. My sense of aesthetics is not what I think would be suitable for Blackstar. Unless you want a ton of black and blue and shiny and glowy.

And with that, </post>.