Are We Still A Friendly Community ?

[BaDToaD]

I dont like the Lurk word, makes me sounds like a horny 38 old man who hangs on pokemon chatrooms

Less of the old you whipper snapper. I'm 39 and I don't hang around pokemon chatrooms. Mind you I do know what Pokemon are. My kids were well into them a couple of years ago.

As for the community... I posted this a few days ago in another thread. It still applies.

The rules are easy:

1. Noob posts a daft or often asked question.

2. Examine the noobs post.

3. Reply in a civil manner or ignore the post.

It really is that simple.

 

[sam fisher]

People were really nice to me for the first 3 weeks when I joinded in april.
But now spray likes to flame me. Anyway I think this is on the whole a friendly community, except spray (no offence).
*runs away*

 

[Axeman]

Wow...you think this community is in danger of becoming unfriendly? You guys should check out neo-geo.com.

And that's exactly what we DONT want to happen!

 

[carlgeorge]

Rico,

What happens if the topic gets no replies so the 'n00b' reposts the topic again, possibly over a lot more forums this time to get more attention?

Have faith, someone will always reply. If they repeatedly post demanding an answer and moaning that no one will answer them then flame away. :rolleyes:

 

[Swiss_Cheeseman]

Hello everyone, my name is Swiss Cheeseman!

I have been known to be rather nasty at times, but please, let it be known that 99.9% of the time its only in jest. I love all of you with hugs and kisses and smooches and anal sex, with one exception.

Starwarsnerd, you are a fucking brainless racist sexist fundie.

Thankyou for listening!

 

[DaveC]

....
2. My controversial explanation for The Problem

I feel that the primary catalyst is that, and I'm prepared for flamebacks here: the GP32 community has ran out of stuff to talk about. Less releases, less buzz about new emulators, seemingly doomed Europe launch with less momentum now than before, less reviews, less activity. People post more and more in off-topic, or branch out to other topics like the Zodiac. This creates more spam, less focus on the GP32, and less incentive for the regulars to stay around the GP32 and remember all those question answers they were so used to repeating before.

3. My actual explanation for The Problem

Also, over time, anything can get old (except, perhaps, sex). I remember regulars in competition to be the first to answer long lists of newbie questions, half of which were in our FAQ (check my sig). Now people are growing tired of it. There are tons of new newbies but less new regulars. People leave the scene for the Zodiac or out of boredom, and this departure rate is steady. But more and more people are coming in. Therefore newbies outnumber regulars by a much larger rate.
.....

Unfortunately I think you are right about this.

I bought a Zodiac when it first came out. I frequented Zodiac gamer alot. The community was terrible. Every post it seemed was a whine, bitch, moan post about no games and/or dodgy games. If it wasn't that it was about dodgy customer support and busted joysticks.

After that I decided what the hell I will buy one of those GP32 things too, they are kind of cool. I found that I really liked it even after having a Zodiac (which I still have) and the community was much nicer. I found things that I actually like better about the GP32 than even the Zodiac. There was much talk of new stuff, and the scene seemed to be really "popping". Most of the posts were about new emus or games, hacks etc.

Unfortunately now the tables seem to have turned. There has been a mass exodus of coders away from the GP32 and toward the Zodiac. GP32 releases have come to a crawl, while the Zodiac scene is really cruising along. Not surprising since most GP32 coders are there now. So now what ? Like you said with the dwindling releases everyone is getting bored and many posts here are whine bitch moan posts that end up in flame wars.

What I don't understand is why did so many developers jump ship so fast? The GP32 is not that bad. Yes the Z has a bit more power but it is not like the GP32 is now useless. There are still alot of coders for the GBA and they didn't jump ship for the GP32 or Zodiac even though they are more powerful. Even the "dead" Dreamcast has alot of activity. I was hoping that the release of the BLU would help, but it seems that Gamepark can't get out of their own way and release the damn things already.

I think the GP32 still has life left in it and if/when the BLU comes out (the price is a bit steep though, $100.00 extra for a backlight? come on .. They need to get that price down.) we will see some great stuff, and hopefully the community will improve and be more friendly.

 

[Mosch]

I have been known to be rather nasty at times, but please, let it be known that 99.9% of the time its only in jest. I love all of you with hugs and kisses and smooches and anal sex, with one exception.

Of this anal sex bit is mandatory, please exclude me too. I`d rather be hated

 

[diablo2]

i swiss cheeseman swiss

 

[count zero]

the GP32 community has ran out of stuff to talk about

I think that's one of the major problems. I wasn't here for some time(4 month?), because of that reason.
It didn't make sense to me to check ths site each day just to see that 70% of the topics are posted in "Off-topic"

There was nothing to takl about (gp related). And I was happy in these days when a noob asked a question i was able to answer.
So i could post something GP related at least.

----

When joined these community everyone felt like a prayer

GO TO THE GAMEBOY COMMUNITY AND SHOW THEM THE NEW GOD: THE GP32!!

So you all wanted that the Gp32 becomes more known and that more people buy it.
You wanted the community toGROW.
So then you should realise if you say to someone: Hey, buy a gp. It's a cool thing
that then these guys are coming and ask you how ths thing works!

Maybe we had post at these days:

Buy a GP! IT'S COOL!! BUT DON'T COME BACK HERE AND ASK ABOUT IT!

(It's like spreading the evangelion and then forbid the people to come to church )

There have always been the same qustions in the forums! And they ever will.
UNTIL the GP32 stops to grow and DIE!
So choose your favorite.

----

The last thing i have to add.

Take your gp32_console and play some of your favorite games!

 

[WrongEyedJesus]

I have championed the silent viewer before and I belive it maybe pertinant to do so again. I have been a member here for over a year, though as you can see my posts are few and far between (at an average of 0.04 a day can anyone else who checks daily beat my score!) that however does not mean that I have not seen a change in the nature of the community.

As with any population the larger it gets the more specific individual needs become. For those of us who remember the days of daily updates of Castaway (sometimes more than one a day if I remember correctly!) it was a much smaller community and discussion groups were far smaller.

Now thanks to the great work done by those who can (Unfortunately I am not one) there are far more emulators, ports and other projects in development. This means that certain people can become more focussed on one issue or another. I would find the community an incredibly daunting place to approach if I was starting now.

It is easy to forget how much knowledge of our little gp32_console we do take for granted because we've been into it for a fair amount of time. I am no expert by any stretch of the imagination (Partly why my rare posts tend to be rants like this as opposed to anything constructive!) but I have a year or so's experience of reading posts and following threads. Whilst there are some people coming fresh to the community who don't bother to check pinned posts there are also those who do seem to get flamed for showing a little interest but not having the sufficient knowledge. This to me seems unfair and intolerant when we are all supposedly trying to support our little console and bring it to a wider audience.

To be honest I am not a fan of the newbie culture as a whole. I find the terms noobie and alike more than a little condecending as if those who have only just found out about the GP32 are in some way not as intelligent and must prove their worth before being accepted as 'proper'. Do I not count because I have only posted a handful of messages in over a year? Sadly I think there are some who might think that this is the case.

This is a community for sharing and enjoying a fun toy. Let's not put people off before they start. I love my GP32 and love letting people know about it and how Game Park and our community are trying to do something different, we defend the little man against the big companies, why are we shunning our own little people for showing an interest?

Thanks to you all for your continued input and lets keep the flag flying for the underdogs eh?

P.S. <Off topic> If I could program sound and saves for the Elite port I would, I know its not hard but I am not a programmer, I'm a science teacher, but for someone my age there is something very very cool about handheld Elite and I would love it as a stand alone as opposed to the ST or NES version. In fact that was my main impetus for buying in the first place! Any takers? Pleaaaaase?

 

[xboxit]

The truth is that alot of people here were told by there friends to get one so they did or they told there friends about the gp32 and they got one and came straight here. I wasn't told about the gp32 by anyone, but encountered it by surfing the net.
To bring me to the point its all our fault, we told people about it so they bought it and came here to ask the same damb question every day. If your interested in it then good but the sad fact is to tell a friend ( who will only get it cause you have it ) is to jepadise the comunity.
I told a friend and he wants one but will either mess it up or get boared of it in less than a year. <_<
We have to try to get people interested but the wrong people can kill the gp32_console .

 

[WrongEyedJesus]

We have to try to get people interested but the wrong people can kill the gp32_console .

Let he who is without sin cast the first GP32

-WrongeyedJesus

 

[Rico]

Coders like toys and like to code for toys. When they see something better, they move on.

Good stuff like the Zodiac: attractive because they have no limits.
Old stuff like the Atari 2600: attractive as a challenge.

But the GP32 is now a run-of-the-mill handheld with a decent set of libraries and tools. Frankly, coders probably find it boring. With most things emulated (or being emulated as we speak - work still continues on fGEN and OpenSNES9x) and no games market for commercial gains, I don't blame coders for jumping ship to something more exciting and attractive.

 

[DaveC]

Coders like toys and like to code for toys. When they see something better, they move on.

Good stuff like the Zodiac: attractive because they have no limits.
Old stuff like the Atari 2600: attractive as a challenge.

But the GP32 is now a run-of-the-mill handheld with a decent set of libraries and tools. Frankly, coders probably find it boring. With most things emulated (or being emulated as we speak - work still continues on fGEN and OpenSNES9x) and no games market for commercial gains, I don't blame coders for jumping ship to something more exciting and attractive.

Zodiac has no limits? That is a new one on me...

 

[Rico]

Heh, I meant.... less limits. But from a developer's point of view they are just going to think 'well, I couldn't do X on the gp32, now I can do it, plus Y as well!'. The Zodiac seems a lot better in comparison, than perhaps it actually is.

 

[DaveC]

Heh, I meant.... less limits. But from a developer's point of view they are just going to think 'well, I couldn't do X on the gp32, now I can do it, plus Y as well!'. The Zodiac seems a lot better in comparison, than perhaps it actually is.

It is decent. I have a Zodiac 2. There are things that are better, yes. There are things that I don't like about it too. Mostly little things that bother me like the non user replaceble hard wired battery that once it dies you need to mail your Zodiac back to Tapwave for replacement, the fact that to change volume you need to pause the game, take out the stylus, tap on the screen un pause, the default joystick setting that is too sloppy for me but can't be adjusted in the current emus/palm games, the fact that if your battery gets low and you are not near a mains you can't play it and can even lose stuff stored in RAM if it gets too low (you can't just swap out the battery with a charged one) and the stick seems kind of fragile. Also the whole encryption/DRM crap is kind of a pain for us non-devs. There has been a SNES emu for MONTHS but since it must be signed before release I have only heard about it but am unable to run it. That kind of hurts the homebrew a bit as it delays releases ALOT. You also need to "keep after it" and make sure you charge it every other week, as it is a PDA it just drains on its own. You can't just put it away for a month and not use it. It just doesn't seem to me that it is the slam dunk that everyone thinks it is. The best thing about it IMHO is the backlit screen. Backlighting is way better than frontlighting (for any type of LCD), as the colors are much better. From a dev point of view the bit of extra Mhz and the larger RAM makes their life easier for them, so yes I can see that.

 

[Valeos]

Indeed the question "Are we still a friendly community" is a good question, albeit a provacative one. The internet is a diverse place, and various opinions and perspectives abound, and many are convinced their opinion or perspective is the "right one". Perhaps this is wrong, at best it is just pathetic, but that is the way things are. This, of course, is MY opinion, and the culmination of observation and experience. My choice is to ignore such individuals in the hopes they will go away.

As most, if not all of you, are avid gamers, I am sure you are familiar with the online gaming scene. This is an enviornment filled with individuals who will shout "N00B" in their illegible leetspeak the second they have the opportunity. Maybe it makes them feel good about themselves, or provides an ego boost, but from my standpoint, it is just foolish.

No matter what the topic, we have all been new or inexperienced, there is nothing "bad" or "stupid" about it. Some people are adept at search engines and looking for answers without help, while others are more comfortable with seeking help from a community. Perhaps this is because they are unsure of themselves, or maybe they are just looking for a voice of experience.

I agree that the term "Newbie" has become an insult, as if to say "You don't know what you are doing, you are stupid." I enjoy online gaming myself, some games I am new to, and very terrible at. More than once I have received the response, "U R PWNED N00B!" From my standpoint, I lost due to my inexperience, but I would have enjoyed the game more if the individual had perhaps said "Good game, I can see you are perhaps inexperienced, want a few pointers?" I am sure this type of individual felt gratified in slaughtering me and then being rude, but in reality they just made a fool of themselves in my eyes.

Sound familiar? We see it every day on various forums throughout the internet, this one included. What makes these individuals foolish is the fact that they judge the person on one event and/or statement. The fact of the matter is that we all have our strengths and weaknesses. To ignore this is complete folly, and only goes to show the ignorance of the accuser in my opinion.

Personally, I just laugh such individuals off as pathetic and ignore them. I am quite aware that though they me more knowlegeable on a given topic or more adept at a certain task, that I surpass them in another area by far. This is not to be arrogant, but I am self-assured enough to know that no one person can know everything, and if they did, they certainly wouldn't spend their time giving others grief.

I am a relatively new addition to the GP32 community (though I am currently without a GP32 as I eagerly await my BLU), but everyone I have met with has been very helpful. I have sent a few private emails, and obtained some very helpful responses in addition to my forum post(s). So far, the community may have its opinions, but people are willing to help.

What makes and should make the GP32 community special is its willingness to assist and be open. Before I pre-ordered my GP32 BLU, I gave strong consideration to getting a Zodiac. What made my choice final was the fact that the GP32 community is open source and more interested in the goals than profit. Once again, this is MY opinion, but it is that opinion that helped me make my final choice.

The Zodiac is a great piece of hardware, there is no doubt about that. However, it is far more commercial in nature. The GP32 is based on community by its very open nature, and that is why I chose it. I have been using Linux for years (since 1993) and it has grown so much because of people who wanted to meet their goals, not just a profit. Just looking at the advancement of Linux shows how such a community can grow. I want to be a part of that, and I am sure many of you do to!

There will always be nay-sayers and those find it a requirement to find fault in just about everything they deal with. Nevertheless, it is not about them, it is about US as a community! Just look at how Linux has advanced as open software, let us show them what can be done with hardware as well!

Valeos

 

[Rico]

DaveC, thanks for the insight. It actually made me think twice about buying a Zodiac - although it was unlikely (I have a PDA, I know about the annoying battery/lose RAM thing ) it's pretty much dead now. Can the Z be cracked to play unsigned games, though? While perhaps not fully legal it would be alright in my eyes, considering the pointlessness of the signing procedure.

Valeos, that was a pretty well-written rant/article. I agree with most of your points but I have to say that I've never been 'PWNED N00B' before. Perhaps I'm a better player j/k to be honest, I was playing Call of Duty before Christmas when the newbies really started to flood in, and the game instills a sense of teamwork. I found my teammates helping me instead of insulting me. I think it really matters what server you go on. Most of the 64-player CoD servers are inevitably full of assholes, but there are many more quiet servers. Obviously don't go on one designed for newbies or with 'newbies' in the title since there will be idiot players who are quite good kicking your ass. But they seem to stay away from servers that look like they're full of regular players and aren't too busy - and those regular players will probably be more open to helping you

Of course, if you're playing Counterstrike: get a private server with your friends, else there is no hope for you

 

[mattmagoo]

Anyone else noticed that, since this Topic has been started people have started being nicer.

Maybe its some sub-conscios thing that people want to fit in, they see one person flame and think it is okay to do so (i have been guilty of this on numerous occassions)

But some people are becoming more friendly every1 else is following suit, but as soon as we see a new troll, annoying newbie or another cause for flaming the community will go downhill again.

It's just a case of everyone needs to be nice all the time coz 1 flame can kick it off

 

[DaveC]

DaveC, thanks for the insight. It actually made me think twice about buying a Zodiac - although it was unlikely (I have a PDA, I know about the annoying battery/lose RAM thing ) it's pretty much dead now. Can the Z be cracked to play unsigned games, though? While perhaps not fully legal it would be alright in my eyes, considering the pointlessness of the signing procedure.

Valeos, that was a pretty well-written rant/article. I agree with most of your points but I have to say that I've never been 'PWNED N00B' before. Perhaps I'm a better player j/k to be honest, I was playing Call of Duty before Christmas when the newbies really started to flood in, and the game instills a sense of teamwork. I found my teammates helping me instead of insulting me. I think it really matters what server you go on. Most of the 64-player CoD servers are inevitably full of assholes, but there are many more quiet servers. Obviously don't go on one designed for newbies or with 'newbies' in the title since there will be idiot players who are quite good kicking your ass. But they seem to stay away from servers that look like they're full of regular players and aren't too busy - and those regular players will probably be more open to helping you

Of course, if you're playing Counterstrike: get a private server with your friends, else there is no hope for you

About DRM, Ardiri did the encryption scheme and was beating his chest on the forums awhile back about how uncrackable it is. Something about many keys hardcoded in each Zodiac and how they are cross checked and matrixed out or something. I am not a coder but it sounded pretty unbreakable to me. So no, it sounds like they got it locked up pretty tight. Tapwave has a strangle hold on any code that uses the hardware. You always can just make a plain Palm app, that doesn't need to be signed, but you can't use the custom Zodiac APIs so it kind of defeates the purpose. The only other way is to "cheat" and sign up as a dev to get the DAA app (need it to run unsigned), even if you are not one, but even that they are cracking down now and that is much harder. And yes each DAA is encrypted to your unit so you can't just copy someone elses.