It seems like the concensus so far is that we keep the place on SMF. That actually suits me because it means that I can put my time into other things on here.
The time considerations are a good point too. Since my eyesight deteriorated and I've been busy in work and with my son I haven't put much time in here.
I used to organise a lot of competitions.. They were difficult to get right, if any of the rules were ambiguous then it caused confusion and occasionally I was put into awkward positions with entries submitted past deadline and ripped code, but on the whole they were good.. I'd say over 95% good.
The comps are one thing that have generated interest but it's hard to get people to draw signatures and it's nice to offer a prize too but lets just say that things have been a bit tight around here for the last couple of years and I really haven't been able to spare much cash, things are a little bit better now (I can afford the hosting etc) but it wouldn't be easy to justify to Mel if I took money out of the household budget when my son needs things... As long as people were understanding that there would not always be a cash prize I'd be happy to organise comps again.
Also we took a knock when hospapa fucked us over. It was a cruel time to happen too because we were hitting new peaks with new members and posts.
And as for Hezad's terrific thread.. Well, this has happened every year or two. Someone comes along who wants to write a software 3D engine, in the past I can remember Grim123 with his raycaster, stonemonkey, tetra, ferris, blitz ammateur, hezaz and there are probably a few more... The problem is though that when the main problems are overcome then the posts dry up and in the history of the forum the posts seem to gravitate towards one particular language, be it C++, Yabasic, Freebasic, Blitz or whatever.
Lastly a word about moderators. We've been lucky enough here to have had some really good moderators. Moderators are not necessary here to keep the members in line because DBF is mostly friendly and always has been. I see the role of moderator as someone who starts topics and encourages posting.
It's really difficult to find someone like that who has enough time to commit to this and it's an easy trap to get into to have inactive moderators which is unfair on the active ones.
I would love DBF to be busy with some good posts again and if we are going to stay on SMF we need to;
1: Have a moderation team of about 8-10 members who post. I will do my best to post new topics but there will need to be an active and committed team that is doing the same (and it goes without saying that if any of that team become inactive that they must be prepared to step aside and let someone else take thier place).
2: Get a few more comps going.
3: Try and explore a few new languages. I quite fancy having a pop at Java myself because it's free and if I master it it will mean that I can demand more pay at work
4: Take a look at the direction of the forum and decide whether we need to diversify a little, and even if we don't then we should decide what forums are relevant. After all, out of the core members here I would not really call everyone here a demoscener (and that's ok) but maybe we need to cater for a wider audience.
5: Reduce the number of boards in this forum as much as possible (too many boards discourages posting).
6: Look at ways of promoting the site to our target audience to gain new members.
7: Develop proper anti-spam measures. (Thank you Combatking for your PM, I think your solution is unique and would partly cure the problem)... Although it's something I think I'd need your help to impliment.
8: Re-Skin the site, give it a lick of paint and make it look more like a coding site.
^^ All the above are just ideas to be kicked around and discussed.
