Future of this Forum...

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Marcus Bone
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Future of this Forum...

Post by Marcus Bone »

Hi All!

Just wondering what to do with this forum? At the moment DC news seems few and far between, and on top of that we really aren't getting that many posts at all.

I'm not suggesting that I delete the forum totally (it is only a small part of the wider sites I support), but rather what we can do to encourage content?

Yes, I know I need to write more site content, but at the moment I'm a bit overwhelmed with work etc. to do anything other than make sure it exists.

Comments, ideas and feedback of all kinds is welcome!
Owner of http://www.darkconspiracytherpg.info and other great RPG websites -
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Linden
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Re: Future of this Forum...

Post by Linden »

It's possibly something of a paradox, but I'm running a DC campaign yet find I don't really have much to say about the game itself. I think I may said a lot the things I wanted to already*. I don't post much on the YSDC forum anymore for similar reasons.

*I've added a post to the books thread though.
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Re: Future of this Forum...

Post by Phulish »

Still a lot of this current DC to come out, I have quite a few crumpled notes awaiting ETs and cyborgs and the like. I'm trying to do a better job on my PM submissions. Also A new career for CDC and AMRIID is gelling for my Empathic pandemics. FEMA would use a variety of careers already stated.
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Morthrai
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Re: Future of this Forum...

Post by Morthrai »

Marcus, I think there are several reasons for these extended periods of quiet.

One will be because we at 3HG haven't put anything out in ages, though there's an all-new sourcebook on its way. It's a biggie too!

Another is what Linden says about not having much to say. You all know how much I love the game in all its forms but I have had nothing new to say for a while. When I do, I will.

There is also the rise of social media in recent years. There's Facebook, Google+, Twitter and whatever else that allow people to share instantly. The downside of having all these different outlets is that nobody uses all of them (in fact some people don't use them at all), and I think it's important to have a central place where people can come back to. Like this forum for example. In fact, personally I am a little fed-up at losing touch with people from only knowing them through a single platform. Though it's hardly used these days at least everyone would read the posts on the old DC Yahoo mailing list :D

One thing we might be able to do is make stronger ties for the DC community. Maybe we could work together and forge a direct link between you as forum guy and me wearing my 3HG hat? DC does have a slightly checkered history behind the scenes but we really should make a stable foundation and then move forwards. For starters I'll collect all the links and put them together and post them everywhere.

Hmm, longish post...nutshell: I always thought there should be a central Dark Conspiracy repository so let's make sure it's this one!
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Linden
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Re: Future of this Forum...

Post by Linden »

Lee makes an interesting point about the fragmentation of social media. I suppose the question is how to carve a niche and be recognised as a primary source of information/material on the game. I will say that I usually visit the forum once a day, even when I'm having a quiet spell and not posting anything. For me it is the place for all things Dark Conspiracy and Protodimension. Sincerely hope it stays that way. :wink:
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Re: Future of this Forum...

Post by Phulish »

I think that when activity begins, a lot is said, then everyone hammers out new thoughts in the silence between. :D
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Morthrai
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Re: Future of this Forum...

Post by Morthrai »

Phulish wrote:I think that when activity begins, a lot is said, then everyone hammers out new thoughts in the silence between. :D
I think you have summed things up very neatly there :D
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Marcus Bone
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Re: Future of this Forum...

Post by Marcus Bone »

Morthrai wrote:One thing we might be able to do is make stronger ties for the DC community. Maybe we could work together and forge a direct link between you as forum guy and me wearing my 3HG hat? DC does have a slightly checkered history behind the scenes but we really should make a stable foundation and then move forwards. For starters I'll collect all the links and put them together and post them everywhere.

Hmm, longish post...nutshell: I always thought there should be a central Dark Conspiracy repository so let's make sure it's this one!
I'd be keen to ensure we can keep this site up to date with all types of DC stuff, and so closer links might be in order. Should we take the discussion off line and talk about our ideas?

Marcus
Owner of http://www.darkconspiracytherpg.info and other great RPG websites -
- Stormbringer! - Supporting the Eternal Champion RPGs at http://www.stormbringerrpg.com
- Unbound Publishing - Bringing back the fear - http://www.unboundbook.org
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Re: Future of this Forum...

Post by Morthrai »

Certainly Marcus! :)
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Re: Future of this Forum...

Post by ReHerakhte »

I don't think I can really add that much to what's already been said but I would like to say that like Linden, I visit this site regularly although I don't always log in or have anything to say.

At the moment real life is severly restricting my ability to run any games so I haven't had a lot of creative thoughts and although I might not be adding anything to the site here at the moment, I would really hate to see it diminish in any way as it is my first stop when I am trying to get some inspiration for gaming.
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Re: Future of this Forum...

Post by LokRobster »

I picked up a 1st Ed copy of DC off Amazon a few weeks ago, played 1991-1992 and had some great memories.

My system of choice is GURPS, but I was glad to find this forum and will be lurking around and reading old posts, mining for adventure ideas and content.

So keep it around!
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Marcus Bone
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Re: Future of this Forum...

Post by Marcus Bone »

LokRobster wrote:I picked up a 1st Ed copy of DC off Amazon a few weeks ago, played 1991-1992 and had some great memories.

My system of choice is GURPS, but I was glad to find this forum and will be lurking around and reading old posts, mining for adventure ideas and content.

So keep it around!
Hi there!

Good to see a new face. Yes, the site and forums will remain, I'm really looking at how I make it more relevant to the subject matter.

Thanks,

Marcus
Owner of http://www.darkconspiracytherpg.info and other great RPG websites -
- Stormbringer! - Supporting the Eternal Champion RPGs at http://www.stormbringerrpg.com
- Unbound Publishing - Bringing back the fear - http://www.unboundbook.org
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ReHerakhte
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Re: Future of this Forum...

Post by ReHerakhte »

Hi all, yeah long time no post for me etc. etc.

I think the idea of keeping the site relevant to the game is something that has already been achieved, the fact that it exists and has continued to exist through the decade makes it still relevant to DarkCon but I think I understand what you're talking about - articles, features, information etc. etc. that would bring the fans in and get them talking on the forum?

Unfortunately there's not the same sort of fanbase for DC as there is for the other big name GDW RPG, i.e. Twilight: 2000. However we can see that there's still interest in DC as some of us are still running DC games and those of us that aren't are planning games or writing material for the game and so on and the fact that we have some new members here shows that there are others out there who are looking for a place to discuss the game.

This site is one of a handful of remaining DarkCon sites that's still active, it's been twenty years since GDW closed their doors (the anniversary of that sad fact was Feb 29th this year) and while a lot of those earlier era gamers may have gone, some of them are coming back to DarkCon - my thinking is that that means this site is totally relevant, we may not be big enough to be the "main base" but we're the first "outpost" that people seem to find when they're coming back to DC.
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Re: Future of this Forum...

Post by KeiBu »

I like what you said about gamers coming back to Dark Conspiracy. DC was always my "Go-to" game and the one that most of my former players associate me with. It has been over ten years since I ran a game though as the amount of gaming I was was involved in ground pretty much to a halt for a while. Back in the gaming hotseat for a couple of years though and some current associates want me to run a game of my choosing for them and so DC is back on the table.

So I'm glad to see this site here. I know GMs don't always see eye to eye on the exact tone of this game, but it's still great to be able to bounce ideas around, just like on the old Sunday Night chats.
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Re: Future of this Forum...

Post by Linden »

KeiBu wrote:
So I'm glad to see this site here. I know GMs don't always see eye to eye on the exact tone of this game, but it's still great to be able to bounce ideas around, just like on the old Sunday Night chats.
I think GMs having different ideas about the tone of the game is down to it supporting a variety of horror styles. That's one of the things I like about it. I always get slightly irate when people say in Call of Cthulhu "you go mad and then you die." That seems to me putting a straitjacket on how the game is to be played even before its started.
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