Hi folks! I've been talking to the MarsDawn staff, there are only two that I haven't "spoken" to yet. (We don't really "speak", all of our communication is via the net, and we don't have computer phone setups...) Anyway, we would like to see the site grow, but we share many of the same concerns that were mentioned in this thread. We're removing our "masks", so we can participate in this
discussion with everyone. My Eon4 handle was Al Powers. Hello my old friends, it sure feels good to take this mask off for a few moments. :-)
Thanks Grand Zero, for bringing up the subject of growth here. Very good timing. We have a few ideas about how to handle the growth, so I'll lay them out. We're not really sure about these, and we need and are asking for ideas and advice from all of you, our trusted friends.
Here's some of the ideas,
We could have different "levels" of participation, in the form of "security levels".
Level 1; Everyone has this. It allows "viewing" the entire site, but no posting anywhere. This is so people can check us out, or just lurk and enjoy.
Level 2; A person has to fill out the "enlist" form to get level 2
access. This allows posting at "Probe Discussion" and "Messhall".
There would be a change to the "enlist" form, and everyone would in effect, "register" their MarsDawn handle and pick a password for themselves. I think the system could even fill in your handle and psswd automatically when you post, since you would already be signed in.
Level 3; a bbs, (the officers club?), where
all of us who are here now can gather. Level 3 access gets one into the officers club. I hope that doesn't sound snobby, I'm just trying to keep a private place where the xcommies can gather.
Eventually, some of the newcomers will become oldtimers and should
have the chance get level 3 access. That's part of the growth process, and it lets us all make new friends.
Level 4; This allows posting to the probes. We don't want to pick who does the posting to the probes, so maybe you folks could choose from among yourselves. Heck, *all* of you might as well have that access. You've done a great job of organizing. :-)
There is one catch... Those newcomers who "enlist" are going to have some ideas about what to do, and they are going to want to join teams. They are also going to expect that some of their ideas show up in posts to the probes, so it puts a little bit of responsibility on the shoulders of those who *do* have acces to the probes. The team leaders, (more than one for each team will be needed, I think I think), will have to review the team discussion threads for good ideas. Those discussion threads will
get bigger and bigger..... We should also "take turns" at level 4
access. Some of the newcomers are going to deserve the chance to take a turn as a team member that reviews ideas and posts to the probes.
Again, I hope these ideas don't sound snobby or overly restrictive, but we are going to need to control access somehow.
I'll attach a copy of a press release that we have been working on
to this thread.
So what do you think, my friends? We need your ideas, and we want
all of you to be a part of this process.
Thanks,
SkyKing