The main thing I'd like to work on next month is just encouraging people to comment more, essentially there are usually about 8 or so different builds (Old and New) that get featured in some way a week, and I'd like to have some way to get people to comment on them all. Mostly new stuff, honestly a big concern of mine is that we don't support each other enough, back when I first started building it wasn't uncommon to get 20-30 replies on a medium quality build (so one that doesn't need the support of multiple comments that are critical but aren't Mason posting a build) and we've definitely got enough active members to be hitting that bar.

So that's my major goal for March. Getting people to comment and interact with each other as much as possible :D

Might I suggest some building contests? Competition inspires great work. This is true no matter the discipline. It would certainly create some buzz and get people excited to both enter and vote, and support one another along the way. But that's supplemental at best. You're concerned that we're not supporting each other enough, but I have to ask: what are we supporting each other towards? What's the end goal? If posting a build at all is the end goal, then there isn't much to support. Anyone can post a build. But not just anyone can post a build good enough to collect 20, 30, 40, 50, or 100 likes, or 10 pages of comments and discussion.

The fact is (at least from my perspective), posting a build is no longer as meaningful as it once was. Not even close. Because there's nothing at stake. This is evident by simply looking at the stakes we once had that have been relegated to obscurity. Modern Masters has one tiny link at the bottom of the CB archives page. I can't even find the Hall of Fame without googling it. These were things to aspire to -- to aim for when building. Yet they're hidden out of sight, so no one strives for them any longer. Communal support comes from the mutual desire to do well, and see others do well. This is one reason why Nano sees so much mutual support. But we've lost our definition of what it means to do well. 

There's so many different goals one can have in mind when creating. Many create for the joy of creation -- the end product is their goal. Some are inspired to create by the lure of status or competition, or just because they like winning. But the end result for any motivation to build is usually meaningful creation. Yet, by hiding away what could be someone's motivation to post an amazing build, the creative potential of the members has been limited, and we've lost the camaraderie that once pushed us to push each other to create better things. 

Right...Contests. So I'm not entirely a fan of contests and I don't think they've ever really worked out like your suggesting, especially more recent ones. Because yes, the original Hall of Fame worked out excellently but Modern Masters? Uh, the Holds Contest? Neither of these really garnered much more attention than a normal Event would. Actually, to put it in perspective, Modern Masters had only two polls that got as many votes as the Weekly Features. The 'Best of the Best' and the Tiebreaker for said category are the only two builds to pick up more than 20 votes, and while I haven't gone back and searched them, I know there was a distinct lack of discussion. 

I'd wager that this is in large part due to our rather dramatic shift away from contests and competition near the time we switched platforms. I'm sure you remember. But I feel as though the pendelum has been swung too far to the other side. The only conclusions that I can draw from low engagement with the group that used to be the hottest thing on the site is that people either no longer care about the character build arms race, or they're afraid to openly care because of lingering tensions. Perhaps there are other reasons? What do you think? 

Right...So for me, I don't really understand this mindset, I understand that it's a thing that many people must have, but I don't understand it personally. For me, we should be supporting each other to...well support each other. It's as simple as that, for me leaving a comment on a build isn't about whether the person is posting it because they enjoy building, want to reach Master Rank or want to share their creations, it's about supporting people because they're posting content. There are very few builders (and by this I mean people who post and then continue to interact with the group) who don't have some drive to improve their builds. That said, yeah it's not quite at the same scale it used to be, but I think there are positives to that as well.

I remember so clearly the night I posted The Curator. My heart was pounding, my hands were shaking, and when those comments started flooding in, I was elated. Same thing with Hands of Arkay, and same thing with Breath of Kyne. Posting each one of those was exciting every time, for various reasons, though for one important common reason: there was something to win or lose. With BoK, it was a straight-up competition. With the other two, while I initially built them because I wanted to share my characters, I put the effort I did into presenting them because I knew the expected standards here, and wanted to exceed them. 

While supporting each other for the sake of supporting each other is ideal, it's not tenable on its own. It's an incomplete model that ignores the people who thrive on competition. Think of it like having a workout partner. Would you rather have someone who congratulates you every time you enter a gym, or do you want someone working out alongside you that pushes you to even greater heights? You've no doubt noticed my seeming inability to complete a build in the last year and a half or so. Well, it's because the object of my motivation is gone. I no longer feel as though there are standards to meet or exceed. Supporting those who post content is both good and necessary, but giving equal support to every person regardless of post quality means that no one earns support.

And, not all support is equal. It's a rather vague term that's only going to muddle our discussion if we don't define what it actually means. The way I see it, support can come in the form of likes, critiques, and compliments. Different quality posts deserve different types of support.

Basically the negative is always that if I did this it'd have to be a six-week affair at the very least and I'm incredibly hesitant about doing that. 

Could you elborate on this? I don't know why it would have to be 6 weeks, or why that makes you hesitant.

[blockquote][b][url=/profile/Dragonborn1721]Dragonborn1921[/url] said:[/b]

Right, well it could possibly be 5 weeks because regardless there needs to be time at the end of the Event for people to either vote or check out last minute entries. So the typical Event time period is 4 weeks and I don't think it can really be shorter for a full building event, even that can occasionally be a bit of a push because we usually have more people dropping out than posting. The fifth (and possibly sixth) week would be for voting, or reading builds that were posted on the final day or whatever, and that's something that if I could find a workaround, I definitely would, but I just can't think of anything. As for my hesitance in pushing Events further than four weeks...well I'll be honest, it's mostly to do with my distaste for how it was handled in the past where we'd have these massive Two Month CB Events that basically crushed any chance for other groups to properly host an event. I still remember how terrible it was to try and run an event in other groups (back when I was hosting RPG, or trying to support Classics).

But...perhaps there is a way to work around this. Give me some time to think about it Legion and I'll have a post ready in the next few days discussing the general idea. Because I do agree to some point. We have kind of started to hit a point where the lack of competition might be just as harmful as supreme competition. I'll have to think about it more, but I do agree that it wouldn't be bad if we were leaning towards the competitive side a little more. 

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Thanks, DB. I always appreciate your willingness to listen and consider. I see what you mean about the six week duration too. I had forgotten that they require extra time for voting and can stifle other groups in doing so. 

[blockquote][b][url=/profile/BrianB]Paladin G[/url] said:[/b] You mention stakes. I like that idea. What about some kind of elimination event? Like take builds from the lowest rank every month and have a vote. Build with the least votes gets canned. Thoughts?[/blockquote]

Deleting work is actively harmful to the community and only serves to create elitist attitudes through blood sport. We stopped Deathmatches awhile ago because there's no point in deleting content. Given a free (building) market, the best products will rise to the top, and the worst will not.