Build a new and a better forum where 100% ad revenue goes directly to Zanz?

[chriskang]

The SMF For Free support forums were very clear on the "no backup, no transfer (http://www.smfsupport.com/support/general_support/general_support_faq-t4140.0.html)" issue, which seems a bit mean.

They don't provide tools to extract data from their database but they don't forbid to do it either. They're hosting this forum but don't own its content, so it's not legally possible for them to prevent you from copying everything in here, if you "find a way" to do it.

Would it be possible to just crawl through all the threads and the member list and build a database out of that?

Yes it's possible.

The URLs are all simple, and if it's a script run with admin access, all data should be available, no?

Everything EXCEPT user passwords. Even an admin doesn't have access to them. Therefore automatically recreating accounts won't be possible.

As you can see, there is a link directly to the game's main screen where you can access battles and whatnot. There is a direct link to the forums from the main screen as well, so you can freely jump between them. If we set it up like that, the forum would undoubtedly have more traffic, which of course means more ads and revenue for the game. It's also wonderfully themed after the game.

Maybe we could create a "design the new forum home" contest?
Users would draw their ideas in photoshop then present an image of the result and we would vote for the one we prefer?
Creating a theme/template for the new forum out of that image shouldn't be too hard.

[chriskang]

Meanwhile if somebody wants to develop a "Elements" style theme I can put it on this forum- and that theme port over to the new forum also. Just because we're waiting on approval doesn't mean we can't improve this site in the meantime.

I'm still unsure if I want a light text on a black background (like the game) or black text (like now).
What do you guys think?

[cipher_nemo]

Quite an undertaking. If something like this is started, I hope it's seen through to completion instead of abandoned part-way.

Of course to complete any forum move, the link would have to be changed on the http://www.elementsthegame.com/ (http://www.elementsthegame.com/) page or we wouldn't have a community. I assume Zanzarino is the only one that has control of that page?

More importantly though is how it affects those who are casual members in this community. Some might not bother creating a new account on a new forums for Elements, while the core people here would most likely start new accounts somewhere else if necessary. Especially since EH mentioning that running a script with access to the DB for the forum is impossible. We'd lose a good chunk of the important threads that include advice, strategy, guides, etc.

But I'd also question the motives for creating a new forum. There's nothing to prove that shoveling more funds over to Zanzarino equates to "more love" or faster/better updates for Elements. That seems like an awfully huge amount of work just for that purpose since there's no guarantee that a new forum with ad dollars would produce faster/better updates to Elements. In this economy, web site ads are not nearly as lucrative as they were years ago.

[cipher_nemo]

I'm still unsure if I want a light text on a black background (like the game) or black text (like now).
What do you guys think?

I think that having the same color scheme as the game and its site would be good. It'd have the same feel as the game, and would probably look more like the "official" forum of Elements.

Doesn't matter either way to me. Black text on a light background is easier on the eyes. Amber text on black screens way back in the day was supposed to be easier on the eyes than green at the time, but that debate dissolved into history as PCs simulated more of an ink on paper look.

[cipher_nemo]

Would it be possible to just crawl through all the threads and the member list and build a database out of that?

You can always parse through web pages and pull data to process and add to another database, but it takes a good deal of coding unless someone has already done it before for this forum's engine type (how it spits out raw data on a page). But that's prone to oversights and other unforeseen issues.

So, yes, it's possible, but at what cost in terms of work? And how accurate are the results?

[cipher_nemo]

Money is a big motivator and it's safe to assume that the amount of time Zanz spends on Elements is directly related to the amount of revenue he gets. And even if it didn't effect the development of Elements at all, he still deserves that money, and we deserve a better forum.

What do you mean by "better forum"?

As for having to make new accounts.. I say boo-f***ing-hoo. Look at my post account. I'm gladly willing to start a new account if it means more money to Zanz and a better forum for me.

It's not a personal argument for me, as I could care less either way for me and my account. It's an argument for casual visitors who make not feel inclined to start a new account when a forum is recreated. It wouldn't be a huge loss to us since they probably won't contribute much, but it is a loss to the extended community in terms or presence and support of Elements.

[cipher_nemo]

This forum is SMF 1.1 if I'm not mistaken. SMF 2.0 RC2 just came out so it's just a matter of time when 2.0 launches.

Ah, I see what you mean.

As the forum you have suggested would be directly tied to Elements the game, I think we should probably model it along the lines of what they have done with Duels: Warstorm (http://forums.warstorm.com/).

That's a very clean and elegant forum. It's a bit light on personalization for accounts though.

[Daxx]

My one problem might be with the potential for Zanz to host the forums. It's his prerogative, of course, but he's having so many hosting issues right now it wouldn't be feasible to run a forum off his hosting space.

[Delreich]

If you can get Zanz in on this, I'm all for it. Preferably he should be in on the hosting as well, as that might be an issue otherwise.
Suppose whoever is hosting the new forum gets themselves banned, or lose interest, would they still keep hosting it?

The SMF For Free support forums were very clear on the "no backup, no transfer (http://www.smfsupport.com/support/general_support/general_support_faq-t4140.0.html)" issue, which seems a bit mean.
Would it be possible to just crawl through all the threads and the member list and build a database out of that?
The URLs are all simple, and if it's a script run with admin access, all data should be available, no?
Would perhaps put some strain on the host, and might be against ToS, so that would have to be checked first...

[Evil Hamster]

I can change the theme. There's a selection of "default" themes and a custom page as well. Doesn't look too hard!

I'm not entirely sure what the difference between styles and themes is- they both seem to do the same thing.

[Evil Hamster]

I prefer a darker background with lighter text because I stare at computer screens all day and it's easier on the eyes. But it doesn't matter much since I always turn the default screen brightness down anyways

[Evil Hamster]

That's fine, if Zanzarino agrees.

Meanwhile if somebody wants to develop a "Elements" style theme I can put it on this forum- and that theme port over to the new forum also. Just because we're waiting on approval doesn't mean we can't improve this site in the meantime.