Quite an undertaking. If something like this is started, I hope it's seen through to completion instead of abandoned part-way.
I can produce a carbon-copy of this forum (theme, structure) in less than 2 hours. After that, the biggest task will be moving all these threads, but if that script Chriskang talked about actually works, then that's not a problem. Duplicating threads shouldn't take more than a week. Tweeking the forum layout and adding mods (like integrated chat) would probably take a couple of weeks. I would say this project would be finished in about 3 weeks, maybe even sooner.
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?
Yes, that's why we need his blessing.
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.
We don't "lose" any threads because we can copy-paste and start new ones. Sure we might lose some discussion but who cares, nobody reads those old, mostly outdated comments how mono-aether pwns everything.
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.
Nobody is saying that Zanz will become a millionaire, but he could easily make $100-200 in a year, and much more than that if this game becomes huge. That's better than the current situation where he gets paid absolutely nothing. Would you continue to develop a game without a pay with all these hackers and whiners?
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.
Yes, changing a forum is a pain in the ass but the longer we wait, the more difficult it is. Now would be a perfect time considering there is an update coming. We could have a big "relaunch" as old players come back to see the update.
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.
