Future of SpritesMind
Posted: Sat Apr 08, 2017 11:39 pm
Hi all,
Some recents events (life and cat fighting) made me think about SpritesMind, and I should make it clear for you.
I said a few times these last years i didn't know if I won't close SpritesMind.
Last month, I closed it ... 1 week.
While it was a 'nervous' reaction, and so a bad thing to do, I had to ask me the question in reverse : should I reopened it ?
And my immediate answer was "yes! of course!...when the cat case will be close"
If I can't live with it closed, why did I ask me if I should close it ?
Thinking about it for about a week (yes, THIS week), it seems it's because SM didn't reach the goals I was hoping for:
I opened SM years ago when we lost the only group talking about Genny dev.
It was awesome : as a newbie, I was able to talk with Charles, Steve Snake and so many others great "names" of the Genesis emu/dev scene at that moment.
I couldn't believe it came to an end, that future newbies, like I was, won't find a place where they could ask whatever they want...and in return, will pass this knowledge to some others rookies.
And without this, no way to see new releases on my favorite system, like we started to see on GB and NES (my hateful system).
Yes, SM is a place where we could find and share info on the Genny and where new projects should start and finish as a physical release.
But I made some errors.
Err 1: human is human
I was stupid to think people will start to talk with each other, to create some big "scene".
Oh, of course, anyone could talk, share anything new but beware if you're not on the same line !
I opened a room, let everyone come in and started to read my book while they talk...without listening
I didn't see usual personal human problem coming.
I was a moderator but I think my duty was to kick spammers not to warn member getting to far, becoming some asshole :
I saw "premium" members fight together.
I saw members laugh at newb.
And i didn't "moderate" (apart with one member, who only knows what respect is when he talks about himself)
it was a big mistake and it's all my fault. My defense ? to define who should stay and who should be banned is against the reason I opened SM.
So yes, I perhaps shouldn't be a moderator....or it seems i can't be the only one.
Err 2: expecting something
Who I am to expect members to work together ? to make them release a game ?
I can't ask this, even more if all I do is "expecting".
I didn't think I had to "animate" SM, I though ideas will popup themselves, members will group together around same project.
I made it easy to create (private) subforum for any group asking for....but noone asked.
It seems I failed here also.
Of course, some projects were released (hi Spain!) but...for a large part of them, they were announced on others boards, not on SM.
I'm not saying every project should get a SM logo, surely not !
I'm saying some members released a game, and didn't give an useful feedback on SM : how they manage to release it ? what bugs they fight with ? what part of the code could be of some interest to other members ?
Don't see this like an attack. it's me and only me.
I had to bare with the fact that some people share and some others...well...use this knowledge to what it was made for.
I should be happy...but I was really hoping for a "we're all friends" mood, stupid me....
I had to stop dreaming.
SM is full of useful informations, mission completed !
Like I accepted people didn't use my tools (and reinvent the wheel every time), I had to accept informations is used, not shared.
Lesson learnt.
Err 3: informations...everywhere
Yes, thanks to you, SM is full of awesome informations about the Genny.
But..how do you find the one you need ?
the YM2612 thread is a best example :
I think noone will deny it is THE best, if not the only one, valuable source on the net about the YM2612.
Sooooo many lost in Sega/Yamaha details discovered and explained in details by some awesome members.
but you had to read +50 pages (and still couting) to get them all......
I already splitted SM in sub forums some years ago to fix it....but it was not enough.
A lot of you asked for a wiki.
And yes, I do understand the needs when I browsed nesdev wiki, or when I was looking for details on some others no-sega systems (**cough**SNK***cough***).
And yes, I tried to create one but you have to understand :
- 2 others wiki already exists and noone contribute(d) to them
- wiki are unsecure, and to see hackers broke SM Wiki, with loss of data, is great possibility
- when I tried to (re)launch it, debate was about "welll...is it really needed?" and "ohh...sorry I won't be able to contribute"
So...WHAT ?
Is it my duty to contribute to the wiki ? to get informations all over SM and store them somewhere, easy to find ?
It seems you ask for it...
Err 4: Forum only
SpritesMind is ALSO a website, not only a forum.
more than half of you didn't even browse the static part of SM.
And I know why : SM website seems to be my own / personal website.
SM is no longer....well...has never be my own.
It's devoted to every human willing to dev or hack the Genny.
Since it's not obvious, I'll propably revamp SM to be Genny related, not KanedaFr related
...with personal sub pages for anyone asking for it (me first!)
Err 4: Real life is here
There was a time when I slept 3 or 4 hours a day, developing tool noone use (shhit...I tried to stop about this...but it really hurt me), answering to new members (even on question like "what is a command line?") and killing spammers.
I slowed down when my family started to complain and when it had impact on my job quality.
I'm now a father, with children i support, play with and love.
Bye bye the 3 or 4 hours a day....I'm more near the 3 or 4 hours a week!
And I stopped writing tools, I'm doing what I was expecting from others : games !
So yes, the time I allow to SM itself is almost ...nothing.
Could I give more ? I think you understand I can't....I'd like but it's not possible without important loss on my life, which I do not want.
I'm NOT the king of SM, I host it but YOU make it alive.
You need my help to create something, to launch an idea or to animate ? PM me.
SO ?
I had to define what I exactly could do for SM, for you.
Answer to members ? anyone else could do it
Moderate ? I'm not the only one able to do it, just need to delegate to respectful members
Wiki ? I could give the impulse, but if you (yes, you) don't follow, it would be a loss of time
More tools ? forget it
Tutorials ? yes, but when we could base them on the wiki
Animate ? it seems I had to, need to read "animate a communaty for dummies" first. Any idea ? (and no, a SpriteMind game isn't a good idea!)
Leave ? sorry, PsychoCat...no way! well...unless members ask for it of course
Publish ? errr...no, sorry, I have no knowledge about marketing and I'll keep my money for food.
...(more to come ?)
If you ever want to reply to this post, please, reply with an idea, a dream, a vision of SM you have....
I'll dig on it to define, with your help, what SM will be in 2018.
Thanks for reading...and sorry if you think it's nonsense
Some recents events (life and cat fighting) made me think about SpritesMind, and I should make it clear for you.
I said a few times these last years i didn't know if I won't close SpritesMind.
Last month, I closed it ... 1 week.
While it was a 'nervous' reaction, and so a bad thing to do, I had to ask me the question in reverse : should I reopened it ?
And my immediate answer was "yes! of course!...when the cat case will be close"
If I can't live with it closed, why did I ask me if I should close it ?
Thinking about it for about a week (yes, THIS week), it seems it's because SM didn't reach the goals I was hoping for:
I opened SM years ago when we lost the only group talking about Genny dev.
It was awesome : as a newbie, I was able to talk with Charles, Steve Snake and so many others great "names" of the Genesis emu/dev scene at that moment.
I couldn't believe it came to an end, that future newbies, like I was, won't find a place where they could ask whatever they want...and in return, will pass this knowledge to some others rookies.
And without this, no way to see new releases on my favorite system, like we started to see on GB and NES (my hateful system).
Yes, SM is a place where we could find and share info on the Genny and where new projects should start and finish as a physical release.
But I made some errors.
Err 1: human is human
I was stupid to think people will start to talk with each other, to create some big "scene".
Oh, of course, anyone could talk, share anything new but beware if you're not on the same line !
I opened a room, let everyone come in and started to read my book while they talk...without listening
I didn't see usual personal human problem coming.
I was a moderator but I think my duty was to kick spammers not to warn member getting to far, becoming some asshole :
I saw "premium" members fight together.
I saw members laugh at newb.
And i didn't "moderate" (apart with one member, who only knows what respect is when he talks about himself)
it was a big mistake and it's all my fault. My defense ? to define who should stay and who should be banned is against the reason I opened SM.
So yes, I perhaps shouldn't be a moderator....or it seems i can't be the only one.
Err 2: expecting something
Who I am to expect members to work together ? to make them release a game ?
I can't ask this, even more if all I do is "expecting".
I didn't think I had to "animate" SM, I though ideas will popup themselves, members will group together around same project.
I made it easy to create (private) subforum for any group asking for....but noone asked.
It seems I failed here also.
Of course, some projects were released (hi Spain!) but...for a large part of them, they were announced on others boards, not on SM.
I'm not saying every project should get a SM logo, surely not !
I'm saying some members released a game, and didn't give an useful feedback on SM : how they manage to release it ? what bugs they fight with ? what part of the code could be of some interest to other members ?
Don't see this like an attack. it's me and only me.
I had to bare with the fact that some people share and some others...well...use this knowledge to what it was made for.
I should be happy...but I was really hoping for a "we're all friends" mood, stupid me....
I had to stop dreaming.
SM is full of useful informations, mission completed !
Like I accepted people didn't use my tools (and reinvent the wheel every time), I had to accept informations is used, not shared.
Lesson learnt.
Err 3: informations...everywhere
Yes, thanks to you, SM is full of awesome informations about the Genny.
But..how do you find the one you need ?
the YM2612 thread is a best example :
I think noone will deny it is THE best, if not the only one, valuable source on the net about the YM2612.
Sooooo many lost in Sega/Yamaha details discovered and explained in details by some awesome members.
but you had to read +50 pages (and still couting) to get them all......
I already splitted SM in sub forums some years ago to fix it....but it was not enough.
A lot of you asked for a wiki.
And yes, I do understand the needs when I browsed nesdev wiki, or when I was looking for details on some others no-sega systems (**cough**SNK***cough***).
And yes, I tried to create one but you have to understand :
- 2 others wiki already exists and noone contribute(d) to them
- wiki are unsecure, and to see hackers broke SM Wiki, with loss of data, is great possibility
- when I tried to (re)launch it, debate was about "welll...is it really needed?" and "ohh...sorry I won't be able to contribute"
So...WHAT ?
Is it my duty to contribute to the wiki ? to get informations all over SM and store them somewhere, easy to find ?
It seems you ask for it...
Err 4: Forum only
SpritesMind is ALSO a website, not only a forum.
more than half of you didn't even browse the static part of SM.
And I know why : SM website seems to be my own / personal website.
SM is no longer....well...has never be my own.
It's devoted to every human willing to dev or hack the Genny.
Since it's not obvious, I'll propably revamp SM to be Genny related, not KanedaFr related
...with personal sub pages for anyone asking for it (me first!)
Err 4: Real life is here
There was a time when I slept 3 or 4 hours a day, developing tool noone use (shhit...I tried to stop about this...but it really hurt me), answering to new members (even on question like "what is a command line?") and killing spammers.
I slowed down when my family started to complain and when it had impact on my job quality.
I'm now a father, with children i support, play with and love.
Bye bye the 3 or 4 hours a day....I'm more near the 3 or 4 hours a week!
And I stopped writing tools, I'm doing what I was expecting from others : games !
So yes, the time I allow to SM itself is almost ...nothing.
Could I give more ? I think you understand I can't....I'd like but it's not possible without important loss on my life, which I do not want.
I'm NOT the king of SM, I host it but YOU make it alive.
You need my help to create something, to launch an idea or to animate ? PM me.
SO ?
I had to define what I exactly could do for SM, for you.
Answer to members ? anyone else could do it
Moderate ? I'm not the only one able to do it, just need to delegate to respectful members
Wiki ? I could give the impulse, but if you (yes, you) don't follow, it would be a loss of time
More tools ? forget it
Tutorials ? yes, but when we could base them on the wiki
Animate ? it seems I had to, need to read "animate a communaty for dummies" first. Any idea ? (and no, a SpriteMind game isn't a good idea!)
Leave ? sorry, PsychoCat...no way! well...unless members ask for it of course
Publish ? errr...no, sorry, I have no knowledge about marketing and I'll keep my money for food.
...(more to come ?)
If you ever want to reply to this post, please, reply with an idea, a dream, a vision of SM you have....
I'll dig on it to define, with your help, what SM will be in 2018.
Thanks for reading...and sorry if you think it's nonsense