hopfully mnay more familiar faces will start appearing hereThe Jester's wasn't completely UNexpected
See you went with the whole Soth look.
Good to see you. Hopefully, more will trickle in.
*sigh* It's not the same as the Karg boards, but....I guess it's home now.
ago to the kargatane but I'am here too, and in the s&s
board.
Greets,
Broken One
Well, should you read it, thank you Karg for all you have done.
Originally posted by Chaos_Nomad
Well, should you read it, thank you Karg for all you have done.
Oh, we're definitely reading it! Thankyou.
Stu
Originally posted by Platinumwarlock
So, who's all come back to WotC, now that the Kargatane are heading back to Darkon after so many years?
Huh... I'm trying to get how it works here...
But what the hey- home is where you hang your hat.
And to all of the Kargatane, thanks for everything! It really was a great site. KUdos on a job well done.
And yes, I'm relocated here, as well as the Sword & Sorcery boards and the Ravenloft Mailing List.
Its my first day as a refugee, and I'm not liking it one bit! We need a new official Ravenloft site!
I think this is one of the signs of the ToUD.
Many thanks to the Kargatane for a job (or rather, an insanely time-consuming hobby) incredibly well done. As much as it bothers me to admit that I can miss something so abstract and impersonal as a web site the same way I might miss a friend who was moving away, I will definitely miss SotK.
On a brighter note, any of you other refugees have a chance to check out the Kargatane's might parting gifts for us? A 3rd edition adventure! My god! And briefly skimming through CotN: Demons last night, it looks fantastic. Already scheming of ways to put it to good (or rather, villainous) use. Of course, I wouldn't have expected anything less than fantastic from the K.
Good to see that so many old faces have come here, hopefully we'll be making this board a bit more lively than it has been in the past, even though it will probably never live up to the memories of the Kargatanes heyday.
I'm with Igor and the rest, we need someone to run a new official RL site... (I know that S&S has some sides dedicated to RL, but frankly, I think they're butt ugly...
)After a year at the Goat this feels like downsizing. From six or seven Forums to just the one.
Suppose we can use the standard D&D board as well in liue of d20 beyond.
Keep everything more compact and less spread out...
Still feels like
Originally posted by malken
I'm with Igor and the rest, we need someone to run a new official RL site... (I know that S&S has some sides dedicated to RL, but frankly, I think they're butt ugly...
Before yesterday, there was no need to invest web ressources to RL since the Karg were doing that job perfectly, maybe it'll change in the future. Afterall, assuming the hundreds who were at the Karg come here or at the S&S boards, they will need to answer the fan's demands.
I doubt they'll do more for us if they haven't for the fans of the entire WoD.
Irony of it. Because there was such a great single site few other great Ravenloft sites popped up. While there are dozens of good Dragonlance sites and more than a few Realms sites plus the millions of homebrew there only needed to be three or four good RL sites, and most just held personal fan content like the Mordentshire Cartographical or Midway Haven. And those have severe bandwidth limitations...
My thanks go out to the Kargatane for a great site over the last few years, as well as getting us CotN: Demons, and Sahdow of the Knife in the end. Although I have to admit that I'm kinda depressed now that the site has closed shop. *Raises a glass* Here's to the Goat, it was great while it lasted.
Man, I even miss the nifty red on black text they had at the ole "book shop:.
I just got an army blanket and a cup of watery gruel... nothing like the bachelor refugee's life!
Originally posted by Lost_and_Damned
I think all former members of the Goat's clientelle should add it....
I agree. I even put it in my sig on the other boards I go to, not just this one.
Best board layout, most mature (for the most part) posters, and just a great way to waste time.
Good to see you, Herr Doktor...
I know that Alhoon and Bela both had mentioned that they would be gone until Monday. Boy will they have a surprise when they get back!
Never been here before, though...
This place is new, and therefore scares me...
Hey, I (not unreasonably) choose the same avatar as The Jester, hold on, I'll change that as soon as I find something else suitable.
There, now I'm Gnollemite, the mack daddy from D20 modern.
Originally posted by The Charlatan
There, now I'm Gnollemite, the mack daddy from D20 modern.
Izzat a Rudy Ray Moore reference? ;)
Originally posted by Cole Deschain
Izzat a Rudy Ray Moore reference? ;)
Blaxploitation film 'Dolemite' (which I've never seen) + pimped-out gnoll from D20 Modern =Gnollemite.
I sent Alhoon and his sister an email so hopefully they won't be so shocked.
..was busy working for the family on Halloween, just now got back.. imagine my shock at going to SotK tonight and well..
Well, quite the shock... and the pity.
Here's to the Goat, and to the Kargatane
It was one heck of a ride, ladies and gents.
Yeah, I'll still be around, and I cannibalized that sig bit as well.
Not to mention, it's good to see the Karg still flitting about!
(Yes, I yoinked the sig, too. It's like a black armband, no?)
http://rpgo.proboards9.com/index.cgi
It's still there. You folks are welcome to come by, maybe even get a few of the threads going again.. especially The Greatest Show.. Bela, you out there?
Originally posted by Antyrias the Redeemed
http://rpgo.proboards9.com/index.cgi
It's still there. You folks are welcome to come by, maybe even get a few of the threads going again.. especially The Greatest Show.. Bela, you out there?
Bela's away for the weekend, but that's a definate possibly. I took the liberty of saving the text for the Greatest Show just in case, so if all goes well...
I need my Carnival fix, demmit!
So I like the idea of calling us Gundarks, we really have lost our home overnight as Igor joked.
And you really didn't need to change your avatar Charlatan, but if ya insist...
You know what?
*grabs Jackie by the collar*
I MISS IT DEARLY!!!
I loved that place so!
Most everyone there was so nice, or at least a few of them listened to me, or at least none of the administrators were mean and nasty to me.
*sob*
I feel so depressed.
It is good to see some names I know here....
Though I merely lurked, I too have added the appropriate sig....
Nathara
Originally posted by Gemathustra
So, it's been, like, a day, since the Malodorous Goat became the Malodorous Carcass.
You know what?
*grabs Jackie by the collar*
I MISS IT DEARLY!!!
I loved that place so!
Most everyone there was so nice, or at least a few of them listened to me, or at least none of the administrators were mean and nasty to me.
*sob*
I feel so depressed.
*puts blanket around Gemathustra*
It'll be ok, we'll get through this. Now let's get you some food.
In all of their dozens upon dozens of avatars, there is not a single icon for the Literary Wolfwere.
Other than that it seems like a fairly nice place...
Sorry for the dumb questions (there will be more, I promise). The SotK board is the only one I ever frequented, so I have no idea how to navigate this place.
(And it's so...pastel.)
In fact, as long as I'm asking dumb questions, how do I fiddle with my profile?
the url is below
http://uk.groups.yahoo.com/group/TheMalodorousHaven
i hope to see you soon, regards Darren
The Artist Formerly Known as Nicholas Merriam here.
Sigh.
Everything's better that stays the same. Hrmph. Change. Chores. Feh. Feh! Bother, I tell you.
Oh well. Here I am. Don't know if I'll necessarily stick around - this doesn't quite have the cozy feel the Kargatane did in my opinion - but, we'll see.
Originally posted by Scipio
I just woke up not too long ago, and I keep trying to go to the old boards, almost on auto-pilot. Is anyone else having this problem, or is it just me?
It's not just you. Yesterday, I must have started heading to the site a half-dozen times, not remembering what had happened. Still takes a few seconds for that annoying little thing called reality to catch up with me a give me nice slap on the face. *sigh* I guess I'm still waiting for the Kargatane to jump out from behind a tree and yell "Surprise, it was all a bad joke!"....
Originally posted by CorruptedLoremaster
I guess I'm still waiting for the Kargatane to jump out from behind a tree and yell "Surprise, it was all a bad joke!"....
I hope, for their sakes, that they don't. I know I'm not the only one who would be mad enough to hunt them all down if it were a joke.
And to answer your question, Scipio, I must have logged on at least a dozen times today.
Real habit we all developed, no?
And yes, there's an empty separator in my bookmarks menu, just to remind me that there is nowhere to go.
Hey, Charlatan, nice icon. Oh, I rescued your hat from the Goat.
That's all.
I still miss it. I had a boring Sunday and I know I would have kept logging there to see if someone posted.
Originally posted by Charney
I still miss it. I had a boring Sunday and I know I would have kept logging there to see if someone posted.
I know what ya mean. Instead I've spent the time searching the web for message board systems to try and get something running. (A futile effort as I have no real server space or money...
I only have a theoretically unlimited number of 5 MB sites available through geocities.)Originally posted by Scipio
*puts blanket around Gemathustra*
It'll be ok, we'll get through this. Now let's get you some food.
Brains?
Incidentally, since I think that the people who run it are here, why is the Midway Haven Library still down? It's been down since THE site closed.
ps. Charltan's avatar definately looks the coolest
Originally posted by Scipio
I hope, for their sakes, that they don't. I know I'm not the only one who would be mad enough to hunt them all down if it were a joke.
I'm not saying I wouldn't also be motivated to devise a way to make conventional definitions of suffering obsolete, but you have to admit, SoK with incredibly angry board-members would still be better than none at all...
...but by the Powers, I've been missing it already. Sitting here, in the dorm labs.. nothing to do, when I'd usually browse the Goat to occupy myself..
..the bordeom, of the boredom.. :headexplo
Originally posted by CorruptedLoremaster
I'm not saying I wouldn't also be motivated to devise a way to make conventional definitions of suffering obsolete, but you have to admit, SoK with incredibly angry board-members would still be better than none at all...
Touche, my friend, touche.
[email]abaddon_lucifer_rl@yahoo.com.br[/email]
I'm sooooo glad to see so many refugees here, include some of my old faves. It was so nice to see my name mentioned so frequently, good for the ego and all.
As to the restarting of The Greatest Show....um....er...ah...I'll see what I can do.
Deadeye is getting impatient. ;)
Glad you could make it, amigo!
Maybe I'll bring him in as a cameo appearance for my own campaign.
As for the Carnival thread, I have no problem returning if we can figure something out, after all there is such a lot of stuff about Ludwig that was never even touched on that it would be a shame to have to recycle the idea that gave him birth.
Originally posted by Bela Reborn
My children! My sweet angels! I have returned to you! I too was horribly, horribly shocked by the loss of our beloved site, and it is a gaping hole I can only pray will eventually fill. But boy, is it gonna be hard.
I'm using tile grout.
Whoa. That's "fire-trucked".
Hey guys...
Uhmm, this board is...different...guess I'll claim that corner...over there...
Coan, whassup man? You still running your Paridon gig? Sorry about me goin' M.I.A....I didn't really expect my "bid" for an aeroseat to get the green light. It did, I went, and...whatever.
I got maybe 5 pages o' the gig printed off, so if you want to get it going (if you haven't already) and don't have the text, I can email it to you if you'd like.
Regardless, here's to all that went down at Secrets of the Kargatane, for better and for worse, and a nod to all those who I see made the lil pilgrimage...
Bleedin' shame o' Fate...but understandable.
Cheers.
Hopefully we'll all live through this.
Originally posted by the Man in the murk
You go on vacation, get it done and over, come back and...?!
Coan, whassup man? You still running your Paridon gig? Sorry about me goin' M.I.A
No problem, but at the moment it seems the Paridon game is on hold. I've got exams soon and without a place to host the thread it seems as if we shall have to wait. Its a pity to, after I got everyone to put so much thought into their characters. But the effort was much appreciated, who knows maybe one day we'll get it going again.
* We got to guilt two new suplements from them.
* We get to start all the perviously overdone threads such as fave domain and Dark Lord again!
* We get to spread out across other boards like a plague of darkness and corrupt all we find there.
* No more spooky old Azalin cutting post numbers and making rules.
*sighs*
Oh well... here's to old memories!
And I'm wearin' the black armband as well, just as soon as I get to my profile.
Originally posted by The_Jester
* We get to spread out across other boards like a plague of darkness and corrupt all we find there.
That does sound like fun.
Char, Cole, Javier, Coan, Anty...I missed you guys so. My heart rejoices at knowing that our communications are not severed.
OK. I'm glad to know these boards exist, even if they only allow us to keep the old Goaters together. But are there any of you who've stumbled across other messageboards?
It's be great to know if anyone else has, though.
(I can't delete my posts?)
I'll try to get it up and running ASAP, but it probably takes at least a week or two to get it online. Things are looking pretty good.
Glad to see that I'm not the only refugee.
Originally posted by Irve
Just to let you know, I have secured a free hosting place for a forum.
I'll try to get it up and running ASAP, but it probably takes at least a week or two to get it online. Things are looking pretty good.
Do not forget the FoS is planning a big site, with many downloads and message board a la Kargatane.
We'll probably have to ask for help as there are many things we will put online in a rush, so those who can html with brio should not stay too far !
Joël
Originally posted by Gotten
Do not forget the FoS is planning a big site, with many downloads and message board a la Kargatane.
We'll probably have to ask for help as there are many things we will put online in a rush, so those who can html with brio should not stay too far !
Joël
I have no intention of competing, since we need a central place to gather, not a thousand to spread us upon. I can still serve as messageboard provider for you
And I do HTML too of course.I've only just found out that SotK is no more and I'm surprised how much it has affected me. I did not think the loss of a website could make me feel so sad.
I must say I don't much like the feel of this place. Please save us Joel, please.....
It has a big PM inbox, all the basic message board stuff (scrolling marquees, glow-text, etc.)
A few ads to deal with, but it's a nice board, and I will be most glad to host The Greatest SHow for you there, Bela.
And any other old Tavern roleplays, for that matter. :D
Do not forget the FoS is planning a big site, with many downloads and message board a la Kargatane.
that sounds good, when would this be up do you think?
Originally posted by Fairome
I'm here too, y'all... I barely made it out alive... Karg keeps dragging me back in, despite the fact that I know it's dead...
Hmm...I get the feeling that there's a good d20 modern horror adventure in-the-making in this sentence. Heheh, "The Phantom Message-Board, given life and sentience by the collective anger and disbelief of it's posters that it had closed...". Heh, I've got to stop posting before I've fully woken up. I end up saying some odd things...
Quite shocking to go check out the Kargatanne site and find it missing! That'll teach me to check my favorite pages more often!
Anywho, I haven't read much of what's already been posted, so I'm sorry if I repeat anything but I do have a few questions.
1: Is there any plan for a new site?
2: Is there any plan for a new forum?
-Scott
If however is running the big come back site needs help contact me, I know how to do most anything you'd be interested in doing.
PM me thru the boards, its prolly the easiest way to contact me
Originally posted by Scott C. Bourgeois
Well, I made it out too.
Quite shocking to go check out the Kargatanne site and find it missing! That'll teach me to check my favorite pages more often!
Anywho, I haven't read much of what's already been posted, so I'm sorry if I repeat anything but I do have a few questions.
1: Is there any plan for a new site?
2: Is there any plan for a new forum?
-Scott
Good news! I just got word from old forumer Blake Alexander ScS and the USS gang are planning a new RL website with a forum using the good ol' YaBB code. Props to them for doing this, and if anybody have any thing to contribute, I encourage them to contact them at [email]isawtheraven@hotmail.com[/email], as per their request.
I'm contemplating offering some graphical assistance, if needed...
I didn't really post too often back at the goat but I was a frequent reader. I've been in a funk all weekend about it's passing.
Glad to see so many have found their way over here though. :pile: I knew something would eventually fill the void but it will be a lot nicer with an actual Ravenloft site to call home again.
:fight!: :88E:
Real cozy over there!
Originally posted by Wraith Form
...but I've been spending my days at EN World's boards.
Now that I'm somewhat freed from any concerns, let me just add this:
If you guys really care about Ravenloft, rather than just your own message board community, you could do much worse than to actually leave the attic and explore the wider gaming community. What do I mean? I mean there's hundreds of you guys, yet most Ravenloft products have either no reviews on RPG.net, EN World, and other signigicant sites, or a review apiece.
Don't be quite so quick to squirrel yourselves away in another self-imposed ghetto, all.
Originally posted by John W. Mangrum
Now that I'm somewhat freed from any concerns, let me just add this:
If you guys really care about Ravenloft, rather than just your own message board community, you could do much worse than to actually leave the attic and explore the wider gaming community. What do I mean? I mean there's hundreds of you guys, yet most Ravenloft products have either no reviews on RPG.net, EN World, and other signigicant sites, or a review apiece.
Don't be quite so quick to squirrel yourselves away in another self-imposed ghetto, all.
THAT said, let me also add that there are hundreds of other cool games/settings out there to discover--*NOT* that Ravenloft isn't wonderful, great and special. Mutants & Masterminds, Traveller d20 ("T20"), Green Ronin's Testament, d20 Modern--I never would have gotten into these games if I hadn't hung out at the EN World's boards, read some of their reviews, and kept my mind [uh, and wallet] open.
Originally posted by John W. Mangrum
Don't be quite so quick to squirrel yourselves away in another self-imposed ghetto, all.
Yes, spread the disease. Spread it far and wide.
You can take the killah out the hood, but not the hood out the killah.
It's good to see we're all on the same level now. Just your regular, average, everyday lowly "fans of the setting".
;)
Originally posted by Wraith Form
THAT said, let me also add that there are hundreds of other cool games/settings out there to discover--*NOT* that Ravenloft isn't wonderful, great and special. Mutants & Masterminds, Traveller d20 ("T20"), Green Ronin's Testament
Hmmmm, I think that's blasphemy.
Now that I'm here, for example, I ain;t necessarily taking a hike-
But the YABB format was something I could understand, and it made the IC roleplaying aspect very easy to keep up on.
P.S. MSD you're not funny
Originally posted by The MadStepDad
Hmmmm, I think that's blasphemy.
Can we still lynch people for that, even if we're not in the Goat anymore? ;)
(kidding, kidding....of course there are great games other than Ravenloft. Call of Cthulhu, silly!)
Manages to creep, bruised and bleeding into this strange new place...
Crud.
That pretty much sums up what I said (although I may have been a bit more vulgar) when I found out that the Kargatane had closed up shop--of course, I only found out today, having taken a 3-day weekend to celebrate Halloween with my family. Talk about shock.
I think I felt the same way a lot of you did--Secrets of the Kargatane had become more a part of my life than I had realized. Even when I wasn't posting much, I knew I could pull up that website and revisit some of the best friends I've never actually met *sad smile*. We could craft a story (like the Galen Saga), exchange ideas on everything from Lord Soth's new helmet to what kinds of kerchiefs Jacqueline Renier would be wearing this fall, and even just talk about boring RL (that's Real Life) stuff to people who live thousands of miles away from each other.
And now it's gone. Crud.
Not that I can't understand the reasons behind it--I couldn't seem to find enough free time to even contribute to the netbooks, let alone undertake all the writing/editing/posting/reviewing/etc. that Stu and crew did, so it makes sense that the K might actually want lives. Did seem kind of abrupt, but maybe sometimes that's the best way--no long, drawn-out good-byes, no being forced to justify and re-justify your actions, just making a clean break.
That being said, I certainly hope that the demise of the Kargatane website and the closing of the Vallaki bookshop doesn't signal the end of the correspondence I've enjoyed with Gotten, Dmitri Stanislaus, Drinnik, Trebor, and the rest of you. It is strange that so many strangers could become so important to you... but they really can. And have.
Best wishes to all of you, and thanks again, Kargatane--we truly appreciate all the work you've done in keeping the Land of Mists alive. Good luck on all your future projects (professional and personal).
So what's this I hear about a new home us "self-imposed ghetto" types? ;)
P.S. I chose the picture of Tanis Half-Elven for my avatar because the character I played in the Galen Saga--Castor Ravenwood--was often compared to Tanis, mainly by Drinnik. It was either that or the Psychic Warrior, and the Warrior looked too much like a "she" for me. :D
Originally posted by AdamGarou
[i]So what's this I hear about a new home us "self-imposed ghetto" types? ;)
The FoS is working on a new site, and until that is up there we've set up a refugee camp here, as well as various other message boards. Just look for links in this thread.
Originally posted by Bob the Efreet
Hey, Adam... what ever happened to Castor, anyway?
The short version? *sad smile*
He said his good-byes to Evee, wandered off into the Mists, and found himself in Kalidnay, where he was captured and forced to fight as a gladiator.
After stubbornly refusing to die in the arena, he was imprisoned and tortured so brutally by Thakok-An that he lost all his memories (both good and bad). Through the psionic and mystical intervention of the Athasian elf Argus Darquestar (another character I brought in later) he was transported back to the Core...
Directly into the Necropolis. With all that that entails.
When last I left him, he was a wandering amnesiac vampire who managed to escape Death's influence (barely) and was slowly making his way back toward Barovia, compelled by some force he didn't understand and couldn't explain.
I thought it would add something of a tragic and ironic twist to the character, becoming the thing he'd always despised and fought (a la Ivan Dragonov when he contracted lycanthropy). Not to mention seeing Drinnik's reaction if/when the two met up with Galen again.
How's Jeris these days?
Originally posted by John W. Mangrum
If you guys really care about Ravenloft, rather than just your own message board community, you could do much worse than to actually leave the attic and explore the wider gaming community. What do I mean? I mean there's hundreds of you guys, yet most Ravenloft products have either no reviews on RPG.net, EN World, and other signigicant sites, or a review apiece.
Don't be quite so quick to squirrel yourselves away in another self-imposed ghetto, all.
here's my thinking, I have only a certain amount of time in the world and so I keep the amount of websites I go by to a minimum. As a computer science student I spend enough time in front of the computer without haing to explore the wider gaming community.
Thats pretty much the reaction Drinnik got when he told me what had happened, and when i checked the board to make sure he wasn't joking. I kept thinking, If only I'd been there I could have put the fire out or something.
Four years i was a patron of that fine establishment and i had only just returned form qualifying as an archaeologist. It's a shame, a damn shame. Still i didn't live 756 years by crying over spilt milk (or burning taverns, except the Inn of the Last Home) so we must venture on. The question is raised of when and where will the Galen Saga reform? After all the child has a knack of getting himself into trouble and he needs us to get him out of it.
As a side note, I'm on a board that has a Dragonlance forum (I'm a Dragonlance fanatic) and a Planescape board (I'm a Planescape DM) and i end up here, says alot for the friends I met along the way. Nice to see so many of you here. Never fear for a goat is similar to a phoenix and can rise from it's own ashes, the goat will live again.
To the Kargatane.
On the day you shut up shop and returned to Darkon I was remarking to a friend that I visited your site because of all the rpg sites i had ever been to i felt the most welcome in your dark shroud and I still belive that. Thanks for all the effort over the years and remember that wherever we go you will be welcomed with cold ale and warm stories by the fire.
For exemple, all interesting reviews of 3e products the fans will make on our future site could be automatically sent to enworld (and other sites with d20 reviews) to be posted there too ?
If people have other similar tactics of sending dark mists tendrils all over the net, we're all hears !
Someday, RL will be bigger then FR, so the newly found Hexad says :D
Joël
Joël
Gentlemen, looks like we've gut ourselves new Masters to serve!
Originally posted by Gotten
For exemple, all interesting reviews of 3e products the fans will make on our future site could be automatically sent to enworld (and other sites with d20 reviews) to be posted there too?
That would be a good idea.
Originally posted by Gotten
For exemple, all interesting reviews of 3e products the fans will make on our future site could be automatically sent to enworld (and other sites with d20 reviews) to be posted there too ?
Hey Scipio why don't you do that for your site. (by the way, his site is cool)
)I'm here. Somewhat.
I just found out today. I spent the weekend out with friends, and decide not to bother to go online.
I check my email this morn, and recieve the newsletter from the Karg informing me of what had occured. Not really believing it, or at least not wanting to, I went directly to the site, only to find that the news was true.
I think I spent about fifteen minutes staring at the screen, trying to make it change.
So I am here. And I am willing to do whatever is within my somewhat limited resources to get things up and running.
Like the rest of you, I was very shocked when I logged on to the MGT yesterday and saw that the site had been closed. My first reaction was "Oh, this is a funny April's Fool joke," but then I realized that it wasn't April. I still find myself clicking on my bookmark for the site. Old habits will die hard.
I would like to thank the members of the Kargatane for all of their hard work over the past years. I have been a regular visitor to SotK and the MGT for four years now (mostly as a lurker), and I have always been very impressed with the quality of their work. I look forward to seeing their contributions to future Ravenloft products. I do have one question for Stu: Will you be posting anymore of your campaign journals? And if so, where? I found your campaign journals to be great inspiration for my own campaign. Thank you very much!
I would also like to say hello to all the folks from the Galen Saga. Although I have not been able to participate for quite some time (the devilish dwarf has been lost in the Mists), the short time in which I was able to contribute to the story was some of the most fun I have ever had in my 22 years of roleplaying. You folks are truly awesome. I hope you all will be able to continue the Saga somewhere, and hopefully I may find the time to contribute in the future.
Well, I think I will also check out some of the other boards now (Scipio's site sounds interesting). Best of luck to you all!
-Max Hellspont
I don't like this place (or the WotC site, for that matter) too much. Here's hoping a new community gets built soon.
Glad to see we haven't all been scattered over the Net since the dissolution of the Tavern. Nice to see you all, although not as nice as it would have been in a more familiar setting...
If someone there gets a PayPal account I'm sure the rest of the online Ravenloft community would be happy to send the occasional small sum of money, hey one buck a month from everyone should be enough.
As long as no one turns a profit and copyright disclaimers are displayed profusely I doubt WotC and/or S&S will have a problem. Just shill pathetically for there books and encourage people to buy the products.
Maybe the same deal with Amazon.com can be arranged for a cut of profits from a link.
blast it all.
Originally posted by The_Jester
A little advice/request for the Fraternity of Shadows (or what happens when the Undead Sea Scrolls unites with Quoth the Raven to form the most powerful of Decepticons... er... netbooks), get a real non geocities cite. The pop-ups and bandwidth limits are killing me! The Midway Haven looks beautiful, but so large of files...
That is indeed our plan, i.e. to stay away from geocities or similar free spaces.
We are looking for a server space, and a "real" .com name register. The name of the site will be :invasion:
(Sorry, guess you will have to wait a few moments more before we make the announcment ;) )
That first class setting will avoid popup, but more importantly it will give us have a large bandwidth so nobody will have login problems or delayed downloads, as on the Midway Haven when we released the USS.
Originally posted by The_Jester
If someone there gets a PayPal account I'm sure the rest of the online Ravenloft community would be happy to send the occasional small sum of money, hey one buck a month from everyone should be enough.
As long as no one turns a profit and copyright disclaimers are displayed profusely I doubt WotC and/or S&S will have a problem. Just shill pathetically for there books and encourage people to buy the products.
Maybe the same deal with Amazon.com can be arranged for a cut of profits from a link.
Thanks for the paypal offer !
Indeed, we could something a la Amazon.
Joël
Originally posted by gonzoron
Sounds like a great idea, just make sure to get the permission of the review authors. Some people get touchy about their work being published places they didn't send it.
Yep, there will be a note explaining that cross pollenisation objective (or perhaps a check to be made in a box ?)
But I don't think anybody should object, if they really believe what they wrote in their review
Jo
Originally posted by John W. Mangrum
Now that I'm somewhat freed from any concerns, let me just add this:
If you guys really care about Ravenloft, rather than just your own message board community, you could do much worse than to actually leave the attic and explore the wider gaming community. What do I mean? I mean there's hundreds of you guys, yet most Ravenloft products have either no reviews on RPG.net, EN World, and other signigicant sites, or a review apiece.
Don't be quite so quick to squirrel yourselves away in another self-imposed ghetto, all.
i use those boards on occasion, i throughly recommend people take a look at some of the hosted sites on E.N World, there is some great floorplans on one site and the Umbragia stuff is fantastic.....
Well, guess I'll have a new home. I'd just like to know how many of the old timers will still be around....
Well, RL is still worth it :-)
W.C.
Originally posted by Platinumwarlock
Aye, good to see everyone, so far.
*sigh* It's not the same as the Karg boards, but....I guess it's home now.
I know you!!! :-) I remember you still from the old-styled Karg forum.... unless I'm messing things up, but I think I'm not
W.C.
Once upon a time, I was once a Champion of the Mists....now, merely a member.
Good to see you, Willie C.
Originally posted by William Cairnstone
I know you!!! :-) I remember you still from the old-styled Karg forum.... unless I'm messing things up, but I think I'm not
W.C.
Damn, I replied to the wrong messa.... looks like I've still got to get used to this :-(
W.C.
Originally posted by William Cairnstone
Damn, I replied to the wrong messa.... looks like I've still got to get used to this :-(
W.C.
Salut Alex !
Content de te voir ici ! Et félicitations et bonheur pour ton marriage !
Joël
Originally posted by AdamGarou
How's Jeris these days?
She still has one wish from the efreeti. I was a bit inactive near the end, so all I'm aware of is that we were last in the general Tepest area (not my idea), and she's tagging along with big sister Megan (played by the Lost Wiccan.. you remember the witch Megan, right?). I think I saw something about us heading towards Borca, but then the tavern exploded, and so we're here now.
Originally posted by The MadStepDad
Yes, spread the disease. Spread it far and wide.
You can take the killah out the hood, but not the hood out the killah.
It's good to see we're all on the same level now. Just your regular, average, everyday lowly "fans of the setting".
;)
Please, let us not have any cyberbloodshed.
Originally posted by Lildog7
I do like the set up but one small problem... I went over and tried to update my profile and was greeted with an error, "too many posters". If the board he set up has limits to posters we would choke it in no time flat if we started piling aboard.
True enough. Hopefully that will be fixed soon.
So:
1.) Here . Ravenloft has never looked so pastel, but there are a lot of us here.
2.) S&S boards ; as noted, very small. But the Dark Duo seems to crop up a bit, for better or worse.
3.) Scipio's new board ; still not sure how I feel about the discovery that Soth lives on, under water. . .
4.) Homeworld , lately redesigned to help us get over our system shock. Haven't registered here yet, but I will, at some point.
5.) The latest web-project the FoS is apparently working on. I keep hopefully poking my head in at the Midway Haven site, because a lot of little websites to check on makes me feel almost like I am browsing through one massive, beautiful (*sniff*) Ravenloft message board. Almost.
Does that about sum it up? If I've missed someone/someplace, don't take it as a personal slight - these are just the ones that were mentioned most often in this thread.
Originally posted by Gotten
Salut Alex !
Content de te voir ici ! Et félicitations et bonheur pour ton marriage !
Joël
Merci beaucoup. :-) Moi aussi, j'ai fait le voyage jusqu'ici. La vie de marié n'est pas si difficile et je peux encore m' amuser avec RL.
Et en fait, je sens beaucoup le besoin de joueur de nouveau :-) Mais ça sera ce samedi
W.C.
I'm just stopping by really quickly to say hello. I was so shocked when I arrived at the Vallaki Bookshop on Nov 1st just to see it burnt down to the ground, that I was barely able to say a couple of words for a while... but now I am happoy that almost everyone found a mistway to this board.
I must leave you for now, but I'll be around, be sure of it!
My best regards
Eduardo Peret
aka Lord Arijani
aka Prof. Dr. Dhurban Ananda
of the Fraternity of Shadows
Originally posted by Matthias Stormcrow
3.) Scipio's new board ; still not sure how I feel about the discovery that Soth lives on, under water. . .
Well, I think it's better than what actually happened to him...
Argh! I return from the deepest darkest recesses of my mind to find no more Kargatane. Alas and alack with a potential blast. Now I must remember to come here to find out what the others have done with ym world.....
Greetings all! Allow me to add my condolences and gratitude to the great Kargatane. See y'all round the boards.
Stefan MAC
..........
Greets,
Broken One
Originally posted by JinnTolser
Well, I think it's better than what actually happened to him...
Yeah, those drastic drops in real estate prices are killer.
Originally posted by The Wannabe
..........
Argh! I return from the deepest darkest recesses of my mind to find no more Kargatane. Alas and alack with a potential blast. Now I must remember to come here to find out what the others have done with ym world.....
Greetings all! Allow me to add my condolences and gratitude to the great Kargatane. See y'all round the boards.
Stefan MAC
..........
WANNABE! How goes? Haven't seen you since the OTWs!
Originally posted by Matthias Stormcrow
I keep hopefully poking my head in at the Midway Haven site, because a lot of little websites to check on makes me feel almost like I am browsing through one massive, beautiful (*sniff*) Ravenloft message board. Almost.
This is something we want to do, i.e. run a very complete website, with as much cool content as we can (and possibly the K's catalogue in a second phase
), the netbook hosting, a big message board, and with many links to the outside internet as we can.Instead of reproducing something that already exists elsewhere, we will put direct links to it (or perhaps even host it, as two groups already asked us).
While we are in the planning stage, we take suggestions - post them here ! We probably won't be able to do it all in the first phase, but we work hard to make it a lively, err, dead place
that all fans will love to hang around.Jo of the FoS
Originally posted by The Wannabe
..........
Argh! I return from the deepest darkest recesses of my mind to find no more Kargatane. Alas and alack with a potential blast. Now I must remember to come here to find out what the others have done with ym world.....
Greetings all! Allow me to add my condolences and gratitude to the great Kargatane. See y'all round the boards.
Stefan MAC
..........
Stefan ! Great to see you here !
On our FoS board, we will reserve you the name Strahdwannabe
;)Jo
Originally posted by The Wannabe
..........
Argh! I return from the deepest darkest recesses of my mind to find no more Kargatane. Alas and alack with a potential blast. Now I must remember to come here to find out what the others have done with ym world.....
Greetings all! Allow me to add my condolences and gratitude to the great Kargatane. See y'all round the boards.
Stefan MAC
..........
And if you decide to come to my boards, your name shall be available.
Originally posted by Scipio
And if you decide to come to my boards, your name shall be available.
*lol*
I was making reference to the fact that Wannabe couldn't be STRAHDwannabe on the K site, as that name was reserved by Stu for another use (like Azalin I guess).
But that's a while ago...
Jo
Originally posted by Gotten
While we are in the planning stage, we take suggestions - post them here ! We probably won't be able to do it all in the first phase, but we work hard to make it a lively, err, dead place
So where will this new 'tavern' be located?
Like Vallaki and the Bookstore/MGT, what's the semi-official in-character domain of the place.
And where is the Midway Haven Observatory supposedly located?
As a change from Barovia might be nice to have a high culture domain for a more taphouse or Victorian feel. Maybe one of the Reinissance domains to the West. Or as a symbol of the union with Quoth the Raven set it in ScS' pet cluster of Shining Bay.
Instead of updating the forums for every new producs you could name the forums for broader topics allowing for back-product discussion.
ie instead of a Gaz3 forum one broad Doomsday Gazateer forum, instead of a RL: PHB forum, a Core Books section.
How about instead of just a RP forum a combo RP, in-character, short story forum, which could also serve as a place for Campain tales and updates. Like MSD's former bragging... er retelling of his adventures.
Hey, you asked for suggestions. I'll probably have more later.
i too was shocked by the news, even if my nick is the same i dont really expect anyone to remember me, heavier reader than poster...
i read on this thread something about making a new webpage for RL, who is actually interested in doing it? count me in.
Originally posted by The_Jester
So where will this new 'tavern' be located?
Like Vallaki and the Bookstore/MGT, what's the semi-official in-character domain of the place.
And where is the Midway Haven Observatory supposedly located?
Midway Haven is located in Barovia, on Lake Zarovich.
The new tavern...well, we're still batting ideas around. Given that our personae are the Richemulot branch of the Fraternity of Shadows, though, it shouldn't be too hard to guess. ;)
And yes, the FoS is busily engaged in working on the new page even as we speak. Scipio's board is well worth checking out in the meantime!
Originally posted by The Arcanist
hey scipio, will check them right now, and please excuse my ignorance but who's the FoS?
The FoS is the Fraternity of Shadows--that is, the editors of the Undead Sea Scrolls netbooks. (We chose the name originally as a sort of salute to our secret society and netbook superiors, the Kargatane.) Given that we just merged with the Quoth the Raven team, we are now (using our Malodorous Goat nicks):
Gotten Grabmal
Midway Haven
The Lost Hedgewitch
ScS
Javier Phenergren (sp.? Sorry Javier!)
Me (Dmitri Stanislaus).
Originally posted by The_Jester
Like MSD's former bragging... er retelling of his adventures.
Hey, whether you like it or not I'm right on the spot,
wearing the crown, airing 'em down/
You suckas know what I'm about out here
I don't toot my own horn cause I don't have to/
You could run your mouth I don't care
But if you get too close I'm gon' clap you/
It's too real out here to be scared
A real gamer gonna do whatever he has to/
A man is a last thing you should fear
It ain't considered a crime unless they catch you/
We all die one day.
Originally posted by The MadStepDad
We all die one day.
Well, that's just depressing. I'm gonna go sit in a corner and cry for a while.
:sad:
Originally posted by Dmitri Stanislaus
The new tavern...well, we're still batting ideas around. Given that our personae are the Richemulot branch of the Fraternity of Shadows, though, it shouldn't be too hard to guess. ;)
In that case, I suggest something along the lines of The Bloody Rat. ;)
Some suggestions on the site: Make the board small to begin with. Not much more than three, maybe four forums to begin with, then you can add on later, like the Goat did... I'm guessing it will take a while before the userbase builds up again, and then it's hard to keep ut the flow with so much space to spread across.
Maybe a Ravenloft forum, an Off-Topic forum, and a Roleplaying forum to start with... It doesn't have to be too advanced to be good.
If you need some assistance on the graphical side, let me know. I'd be willing to make logos, backgrounds and so forth. I'm not claiming any mastery, but I like to fiddle with these things. If you want something written, I might consider that too. (But for those who know me: I can be notoriously lazy. I'll try to be more diciplined though... :embarrass)
Originally posted by The MadStepDad
We all die one day.
In Ravenloft, that's only a temporary inconvience.
Originally posted by Gotten
Stefan ! Great to see you here !
On our FoS board, we will reserve you the name Strahdwannabe
Jo
..........
Aww.....you so nice. I get to go back to my original screename after such a long time!
Behold the return of Strahdwannabe!
Um, what is this "FoS board"?
Stefan MAC
..........
Originally posted by Cole Deschain
WANNABE! How goes? Haven't seen you since the OTWs!
..........
Yes, I am here. Alas that role-playing in general and Ravenloft in specific have left my life for what seems to be permanent, but I still drop by on occasion to see what's going on.
And whilst we're on the topic.....does this place have room for another OTW?
LOL
Stefan MAC
..........
Originally posted by Scipio
And if you decide to come to my boards, your name shall be available.
And your board is.....?
Come check it out. I think you'll like it.
Originally posted by The Wannabe
And your board is.....?
Sorry for not putting a link there, I'd already posted the URL so many times that I didn't want to risk it being considered spamming.
Dominique
Originally posted by Dmitri Stanislaus
Javier Phenergren (sp.? Sorry Javier!)
Actually, it is spelled Phenergan... like the cough syrup. ;) No worries, Dmitri!
Originally posted by malken
In that case, I suggest something along the lines of The Bloody Rat.
We've already had something animal-like. We should go for more refined, like a more upperclass place. Plus I make it a point to avoid drinking holes named after vermin.
Originally posted by malken
Some suggestions on the site: Make the board small to begin with. Not much more than three, maybe four forums to begin with, then you can add on later, like the Goat did... I'm guessing it will take a while before the userbase builds up again, and then it's hard to keep ut the flow with so much space to spread across.
Agreed, second the small and room for improvement.
Originally posted by malken
Maybe a Ravenloft forum, an Off-Topic forum, and a Roleplaying forum to start with... It doesn't have to be too advanced to be good.
Well I suggested the story/rp/campain forum. And we need a core RL forum. Instead of an off-topic forum, which tends to attract weird discussion and act as flame-bait, how about a Media Forum. more broad than Horror, but still focused. Allow talk of Movies, TV, Comics, and more. Plus the ussual d20 beyond...
Originally posted by The_Jester
We've already had something animal-like. We should go for more refined, like a more upperclass place. Plus I make it a point to avoid drinking holes named after vermin.
a agree, no more animals....
Originally posted by The_Jester
Agreed, second the small and room for improvement.
a sensiable idea
Originally posted by The_Jester
Well I suggested the story/rp/campain forum. And we need a core RL forum. Instead of an off-topic forum, which tends to attract weird discussion and act as flame-bait, how about a Media Forum. more broad than Horror, but still focused. Allow talk of Movies, TV, Comics, and more. Plus the ussual d20 beyond...
i have to agree with this idea....
Originally posted by Lost_and_Damned
a agree, no more animals....
Hey now, I take offense to that!;)
Originally posted by Lildog7
Hey now, I take offense to that!;)
animals that can type on computers count as senients, they don't count as simple animals like rats
Originally posted by Lost_and_Damned
animals that can type on computers count as senients, they don't count as simple animals like rats
So in other words "Animals" compared to "animals"... ever read the book Wicked? There are a lot of good debates about the two forms in Oz and what rights either should have.
eduardoperet@globo.com
lord_arijani@yahoo.com.br
Thanks a lot and keep Ravenloft alive! (or better say un-dead)
Eduardo Peret
aka Maharajah Arijani
aka Prof. Dr. Dhurban Ananda of Tvashtri
Originally posted by malken
In that case, I suggest something along the lines of The Bloody Rat. ;)
Maybe a Ravenloft forum, an Off-Topic forum, and a Roleplaying forum to start with... It doesn't have to be too advanced to be good.
Yes, keep the Off-Topic forum. I miss those bloody, all-guns-blazing-out conversations about politics and religions
But it made us feel home. We could actually discuss things about the real world with other people, just like we do with our friends.
W.C.
Originally posted by Lildog7
Hey now, I take offense to that!;)
A dog's got personality. Personality goes a long way... ;)
Originally posted by Lost_and_Damned
a agree, no more animals....
What if we were talking about one charming mothertruckin rat? :D
Besides, it was a joke, y'all... As in Richemulot: not a place were you mess with the rodents.
But yeah, no more animals. Agreed...
Originally posted by William Cairnstone
Yes, keep the Off-Topic forum. I miss those bloody, all-guns-blazing-out conversations about politics and religions
But it made us feel home. We could actually discuss things about the real world with other people, just like we do with our friends.
W.C.
I think the problem with the OT board at the Kargatane website was that, after a while, the Off-Topic Board became a lot larger than all the other boards, thus making the Ravenloft-oriented boards look like the true off-topic boards
If such board is reactivated at all, I think there should be tools to limit the number of messages in such boards - I always felt that the 100-message limit was too high.
I particularly prefer the new look the Kargatane gave to the boards - one for Horror beyond the Mists and another for d20 beyond the Mists. I don't think we really need anything beyond that.
Originally posted by Lord Arijani of Sri Raji
I think the problem with the OT board at the Kargatane website was that, after a while, the Off-Topic Board became a lot larger than all the other boards, thus making the Ravenloft-oriented boards look like the true off-topic boards
If such board is reactivated at all, I think there should be tools to limit the number of messages in such boards - I always felt that the 100-message limit was too high.
I particularly prefer the new look the Kargatane gave to the boards - one for Horror beyond the Mists and another for d20 beyond the Mists. I don't think we really need anything beyond that.
I think it's good to have one board to discuss roleplaying in general and one for Ravenloft, but I think we could extend the Horror Beyond the Mists board to include discussion of other relevent thing. I like the Media-board idea, allowing us to discuss things like movies, comics, and music, as long as we don't venture into the political greyzone-area...
Then again, keeping it strict could be wise too. Ultimately, it's up to the ones doing the monitoring...
Originally posted by Lord Arijani of Sri Raji
I particularly prefer the new look the Kargatane gave to the boards - one for Horror beyond the Mists and another for d20 beyond the Mists. I don't think we really need anything beyond that.
I also wouldn't mind seeing something like Fantasy beyond the Mists. RL is a horror/fantasy mix, after all, and a lot of us who play it are into pure fantasy stuff. I would've liked to have the option of bringing up, say, the latest Wheel of Time novel or predictions for how they'll handle the third Harry Potter movie. Granted, a lot of people used Horror to bring those sorts of things up, but it seemed a little weird to me. My two Canadian cents. ;)
I didn't think you'd all have as little to say as I found on the other boards I checked.. As far as my reaction to this is concerned, you who read comics may be familiar with the reaction one Spider Jerusalem had to a certain political 'Beast' being elected to the presidency. :headexplo I really don't think I'd be allowed to post a reply consisting of the word F*C* printed 8000 times.
This was the first time I've ever mourned the passing of a website. I was in my first year of college when the first three trilogies of the 'DragonLance' series finished and it didn't look like there would be any more ever. I mourned the passing of a book series for the first time. At least until somebody got the message and started it up again. There have been any number of comic book series and movie franchises and television shows since. It's hard to lose something you always thought would be there as long as there was money in it. And with all the input people put into that site, you'd THINK there was money in it. Still this was my first site. It's amazing what you lose when you close a website. There were so many long conversations and debate suddenly closed unfinished. Sso many campaign journals I'll never get to read. So many stories we'll never know the endings of. We can start again I suppose. But we'll never know how many different signs there are that the DM has seen to much Python or Mel Brooks there would have been. Still the future lies ahead and I'm glad some of you have picked up the gauntlet. :D I hope to discuss a great deal with you in the future. Here's something to go with it all. Music Sam! (Singing)Everybody talks about a new world in the morning
new world in the morning so they say
Now I myself don't talk about a new world in the morning
New world in the morning that's today
And I can feel a new tomorrow coming on
And I don't know why I have to make a song
everybody talks about a new world in the morning
New world in the morning takes so long
I met a man who had a dream he'd had since he was 20
I met that man when he was 81
He said too many folks just stand and wait until the morning
Don't they know tomorrow never comes
And he would feel a new tomorrow coming on
And when he'd smile his eyes would twinkle up in fun
Now everybody talks about a new world in the morning
New world in the morning takes so long
And I can feel a new tomorrow coming on
and I don't know why I have to make a song
Everybody talks about a new world in the morning
New world in the morning takes so long.
La Da di da Dum!! La da di da Dum!!!!
;)
I'm still at a loss...
It is a small comfort to have found you all here, feeling as hollow as i....
My the memories of the Malodorous Goat Tavern live forever !
Shadows of the Kargatane, RIP 10/31/03....
Originally posted by Neggarroth
How do you thick i felt. I've just finished exams and didn't want the distractions that Ravenloft (and gaming in genral) has over me, so i avoided it till i finished... only an hour ago i looked up our beloved site to pick up what i've missed in the last couple of weeks to find it NO MORE !!!!!!!
I'm still at a loss...
It is a small comfort to have found you all here, feeling as hollow as i....
My the memories of the Malodorous Goat Tavern live forever !
Shadows of the Kargatane, RIP 10/31/03....
URGGGGGHHHHHHH
it was SECRETS of....., one little mistake in the first page and look what happens.......
Originally posted by Lost_and_Damned
URGGGGGHHHHHHH
it was SECRETS of....., one little mistake in the first page and look what happens.......
My bad !!!! (Don't i feel sheepish...) I find myself making mistakes like this when i haven't had much sleep for the last few days.....
Secrets of the Kargatane, RIP 10/31/03.
Originally posted by Scipio
Nah, that would be my bad. That was a bad day, and I guess I never caught it. Plus no one mentioned it to me.
now it's my bad, i noticed it way back on page two when i borrowed part of your sig, and forgot to tell you you had made a mistake.....
Originally posted by Keg of Ale
I agree with Arijani: Off-Topic boards are dangerous in taking the main focus of the forum away from Ravenloft. I suggest we don't do any kind of Off-Topic board to begin with, and add it if there's enough demand for it. Also make it limited to horror/roleplaying.
But then you're taking the personality out of the handle.
People, as people, got lots to say about the ways of the world, and if you're intending to sponser a community-driven (intended) board, then you'd best cater to the "other side" of the RPG surfin' entity. Otherwise, your in-character and in-game boards will become polluted with "off topic rants", and then you'll be just another one of those narcissistic places...a place that wants, idealistically, everybody to be one and the same. Or, like the person who created the place.
That's boring, and not REAL. Not to mention laughably lame.
People will release (as this whole medium is written thought), there's nothing you can do to stop it, so why not offer them that place to release?
Just don't be a stickler when a topic comes up that you're afraid to take part in. Nobody can force you to read a thread, least of all take part in one. Just keep silent, and if you're the board's owner, you might want to throw up some kind of disclaimer saying that the site doesn't neccessarily agree with the P.O.V.s displayed on the Off Topic board.
It's only "dangerous" because some people can't leave written thought as written thought. Or, some people are trying (a little too hard if you ask me) to hide from the real world, and get offended when the real world comes back to haunt them. Heaven forbid people have opinions on non-RPG stuff...!
Why not create a place, of virtual reality, that represents (at least on the most basic of levels) Reality...a place where you're YOU...where you can bring both your thoughts and your relation (ie Ravenloft) to the "table". A place where you can be you while exploring your hobby.
Why separate the two?
At least give them the option. If they wanna hide, then let 'em hide. If they wanna break it out, then let 'em break it out.
You're never, ever, going to find a place that effectively takes the person out of the personality...so why even try?
If you want a place that prevents people from being themselves, then you'd probally be better off if you created a place that someone can join only if sponsored (by someone who the clique knows and trusts). It's what you're really after, so why not just beat through the bush and spare all of us, yourselves included, the headache that'll no doubt follow?
Just a few B-thoughts from a (faceless) neighbor...
P.S.: This message is not intended for any one specific individual or group, it is just some personal thoughts on so-called "community" messageboards. Roleplaying sites specifically. All questions presented are rhetorical, and should be read as such. The quote is the trigger, and nothing but.
- There are message boards for the most variable themes and topics throughout the internet. One need not stay attached to a single board. Therefore, if one wants to express points of view about things that are off-topic for a Ravenloft-oriented message board, one always has the option of looking for another board, and keep the RL boards for what they have been designed to be. Just as you said people should have the option, I say: they already have it. Just go look for other boards. Why would RL be forced to open space to all matters and discussion themes? This is RPG, horror-styled, in the D&D/d20 system. Just that. It is already very good to allow other horror-oriented (and perhaps fantasy-oriented, a board for other RPG games, perhaps not even D&D/d20 fantasy games) topics to have their own board within the same community, as well as other d20 topics have their own too.
- I have participated in several RPG boards and e-mail lists for a long time and can say that some things are better if separated. There must be rules to regulate these communities, in order to avoid those who inevitably "cross the line" and take advantage of the freedom granted to them. If you didn't see it in the old RL board, I can tell you, anyone who was part of those boards can tell you: the Off-Topic Board was by far the largest, even after the Kargatane limited the number of messages for each board in 100. Numerically speaking, this made the RL boards become less and less RL-oriented and more off-topic, general-day-to-day matters-oriented. Also, some people would not even visit the other boards anymore, concentrating their messages on the OT-board. That's why I say: they should go look for another place to talk about other issues, the RL boards are not this place.
- Currently, I co-moderate a large RPG-oriented Brazilian message board. Our people sometimes do not follow the rules of Netiquette, and sometimes they need to be restrained. One care we took was to separate large themes (movies and TV, cardgames, videaogames, literature, each RPG system) in blocks and constantly monitor new messages, transferring them to the appropriate board when necessary and telling everyone what we are doing, in order to educate them. It's not harsh, not totalitarian, just educative. And we are getting a fine feedback on this. Also, we do not have OT-boards. Our associates simply go to other boards to talk about other matters.
In either case the off-topic boards have not taken over.
no matter how hard you want it to be pure, it will get sullied without a proper place to ramble.
you can cite as many brazilians as you'd like to, but there aren't all brazilians here, and there's something to be said about how north americans decide to inhabit a forum.
So unless you can have a moderator checking it 24 H a day, it's a risky concept IMHO.
Joël
Originally posted by Aion Khonsu
no matter how hard you want it to be pure, it will get sullied without a proper place to ramble.
That is why you need to put strict forum rules. If you give people 4 feet of rope, they will take 5 but not 12 ;)
you can cite as many brazilians as you'd like to, but there aren't all brazilians here, and there's something to be said about how north americans decide to inhabit a forum.
A highly antipathic remark IMHO, as all brazilians I have seen on the net are well behaved. I can't say the same of all north americans !
Joël
That is to say, I don't approve treating Arijani as a "stranger".
(Gotten, I hope your forum rules will prohibit this sort of comment).
Discussions about sex, race, politics and the like gets us nowhere, and only sours the mood.
Hmmm. That's a bit too much of the word fairly, methinks.
1) A prominent Off-topic board will, over time, make the message board as a whole less about its original purpose and more about the board itself. People spend less time talking about, say, Ravenloft, and more time talking about the message board community and their fellow posters.
I think this happens because the Off-Topic board starts as the place where people post their opinions on politics, economics, religion, and so forth, but quickly degenerates into the place where people post simply because they're bored.
So don't be surprised to see threads like "So what did everyone do today?" or "Any good movies playing?" or, I kid you not, "I'm bored." And also don't be surprised when they go on for PAGES.
2) On the subject, a single Off-Topic thread can go on forever. Indeed, once a thread reaches a certain size, it seems to become a point of pride and people will keep it going just to see the numbers rise. Off-Topic threads will often cease to be about the original topic and instead become about the thread itself.
2) Message boards cost bandwidth. This isn't a small matter. Before we imposed restrictions, the Off-Topic board on SotK was typically comparable in size to every single other board combined. In other words, conversations about things the Kargatane, by definition, didn't care about were costing as much as all the conversations about things they did.
This may seem a selfish complaint. But I could turn it around and say that posting to an Off-Topic board is even more selfish.
3) This:
People, as people, got lots to say about the ways of the world, and if you're intending to sponser a community-driven (intended) board, then you'd best cater to the "other side" of the RPG surfin' entity. Otherwise, your in-character and in-game boards will become polluted with "off topic rants", and then you'll be just another one of those narcissistic places...a place that wants, idealistically, everybody to be one and the same. Or, like the person who created the place.
is a slippery-slope argument, and in my experience it doesn't tend to manifest in reality.
3a) Once we shut down the Off-Topic board at SotK, off-topic rants did not spread to the Ravenloft-specific boards with any increased frequency.
Instead, they blossomed on our concession to the people who wanted Off-Topic boards, the Horror board, which became characterized by people trying to treat every current event as genre horror so they could post about it.
In other words, people took our board with the most poorly defined focus, and then tried to subvert that focus and define it the way they chose.
When we cracked down on that practice, it didn't spring up elsewhere. People tend to be pretty good guests once they know what the host doesn't like.
3b) I think boards actually become more narcissistic when an Off-Topic board is in place. As I said earlier, the MB becomes more about the MB community. The MB community then becomes more insular, to its own detriment and the detriment of newcomers.
Look how many people are describing themselves as SotK "Refugees" on this board. It's not as if we had the borders closed all that time!
4) I disagree with this as well:
But then you're taking the personality out of the handle.
Personality will come through on any topic. That's part of what personality is; it's how you interact with people. Discussion on any topic is interaction, and it will bring forth people's personalities. You don't have to talk about everything under the sun for it to happen.
As an example, few people, I think, would have confused Stu, Ryan, and Andrew Hackard as the same person based on their posts. Yet these are three people who, by and large, DO have similar views and opinions on what Ravenloft is and should be.
EDIT: One last note.
During the "prime" of the Malodorous Goat Off-Topic board, I would virtually never visit. I figured that if there was something there that needed a moderator's attention, I'd be notified.
Once it started getting too big for its own good, I started paying closer attention, and got a huge shock.
There were a few posters there, with over 1000 posts each, whom I had NEVER seen before.
Over 1000 posts, and not once had they deigned to post on-topic.
That was the best argument I'd yet seen for getting rid of the Off-Topic board.
I still recomend a Media Forum in place of the Horror to give a broader focus but still restrict politics, religion, and sports rants that do nothing but cause arguments.
Along with an off-topic board, the single element most guaranteed to produce nothing but narcissism and adminstrator headaches is keeping track of post counts. Post counts produce nothing tangible beyond posts about post counts and posts made solely to increase post counts. They skew post content heavily from signal to noise, so to speak.
what i did mean before is that mentioning a board that is filled by a singular nationality is skewed and that people up on the top half of the globe may not behave the same way. you have to assume the worst before you can work towards the best.
a better idea is to have linked forums.
you want an off topic forum, use one of those cheap free ones with a link to it. let people ramble forever. and then they can count posts all they want.
it's what someone did with the HoloNet. they offshot a "no holds barred" place to discuss politics and religon and all those hot topics.
Originally posted by Andrew Cermak
[b]Some thoughts, based on personal experience, that may or may not prove helpful:
1) A prominent Off-topic board will, over time, make the message board as a whole less about its original purpose and more about the board itself. People spend less time talking about, say, Ravenloft, and more time talking about the message board community and their fellow posters.
I think this happens because the Off-Topic board starts as the place where people post their opinions on politics, economics, religion, and so forth, but quickly degenerates into the place where people post simply because they're bored.
So don't be surprised to see threads like "So what did everyone do today?" or "Any good movies playing?" or, I kid you not, "I'm bored." And also don't be surprised when they go on for PAGES.
And what's the real problem with this? People are writing out thoughts that are in their heads, and other people are responding.
And with the thirty day rule that you guys at SotK implemented (or whatever it was), then the pages become obsolete soon enough...for recycled...whatever you want to call it.
It's a board that is being used, therefore it is a site that people visit. And the longer the people kick around at said site, then the more of that site that they will fully explore.
"What's behind door number 2?"...show people a maze, and they're bound to become lost in it. It's human nature to explore, and you're then catering to that, instinct, if you will.
It's not trickery when it's an invitation...
But I could turn it around and say that posting to an Off-Topic board is even more selfish.
??
Maybe in the scattered case...but...
(did I take this out of context?)
3) This:
is a slippery-slope argument, and in my experience it doesn't tend to manifest in reality.
...and the rest that followed...
I never hosted a website before. You guys have. That said, I assume you know what you're talking about, for the simple fact that you've ran your place for what was it?, six, seven years?
Touche.
4)
I retract that statement.
Replace it with "but then you're (trying to) suppressing the handle-user's personality."
A true Ravenloft community, in my admitted pig-headed skull, is not only about Ravenloft, but about the people who play it as well. And with those people comes daily life, and all that it encompasses. All good, all bad, with a little bit of "ngh". And it's not right to hush people about things that they feel are heavy enough to talk about.
Now, on the other hand, if you just want a Ravenloft fansite, or website, then that's a different story altogether. Then you can limit conversation to the setting, then you can have all things Ravenloft-related, and then you can have what it sounds like the people here want. But it's not then a Ravenloft community.
Label your site correctly people.
Please.
It's all a surfer asks...
Originally posted by the Man in the murk
And what's the real problem with this?
Don't confuse chatting with online buddies about post counts, politics, and the weather with doing Ravenloft any favors.
Originally posted by John W. Mangrum
Don't confuse chatting with online buddies about post counts, politics, and the weather with doing Ravenloft any favors.
Oh, I'm not confused...far from.
And by providing Ravenloft players with an outlet for their opinions on real life, we're hardly doing Ravenloft, the RPG setting, any sort of harm.
In any sense of the word.
I just can't see why there's this unspoken need to keep roleplayers down, while they go about their hobby online. They come to the site with hobby in mind, and who knows?, maybe they'll stay because they made a few friends...who they can campaign with online. At the site.
Why not give them the best of both worlds? Why have them meet at one place, and tell them to go to another if and when they got something real to say?
Ravenloft is the glue, will always be the glue, but without the material, what good is the glue?
All I'm saying is to offer one board...not a chunk of the site.
Originally posted by the Man in the murk
Oh, I'm not confused...far from.
And by providing Ravenloft players with an outlet for their opinions on real life, we're hardly doing Ravenloft, the RPG setting, any sort of harm.
In any sense of the word.
No?
Now that Secrets of the Kargatane is gone, go find me a review of, say, Heroes of Light.
Originally posted by John W. Mangrum
No?
Now that Secrets of the Kargatane is gone, go find me a review of, say, Heroes of Light.
??
...
What's that got to do with what we're talking about...aside from patting the SotK crew on the back?
If you want a fan review, all you have to do is ask a fan his or her review. Which you can do anywhere, through a simple thread.
But...I still don't see what this has to do with establishing a community for Ravenloft fans/supporters. More specifically, offering them an area to chat about things not related to the setting...
Originally posted by John W. Mangrum
No?
Now that Secrets of the Kargatane is gone, go find me a review of, say, Heroes of Light.
Here, I'll even break this down for you:
Total # of Reviews at Primary RPG Review Sites
Product......................................EN World............RPG.net
Ravenloft Third Edition...............7........................5
Secrets of the Dread Realms.....1........................1
Denizens of Darkness................4........................1
Van Richten's Arsenal................3.........................goose egg
Champions of Darkness.............1........................1
Heroes of Light..........................zip......................nothing
Ravenloft Gazetteer I................1.........................1
Ravenloft Gazetteer II...............zilch....................1
Ravenloft Gazetteer III.............1.........................1
VRG to the Walking Dead..........nada...................1
Ravenloft DMG...........................1.........................1
BTW, thanks to the literal handful of you who did make an effort at keeping Ravenloft in the public eye.
Originally posted by the Man in the murk
What's that got to do with what we're talking about...aside from patting the SotK crew on the back?
What we're talking about is the difference between a group of people dedicated to an RPG and a group of people dedicated to themselves. Many of our MB users reacted with open hostility to measures made to bring in new Ravenloft fans. They certainly made no attempt to do so themselves. While most of you were shutting yourselves away in our message boards, I often found myself on other forums pointing out that, yes, Ravenloft was actually being supported in third edition.
While you say there was no damage done, I say that's quite a bit of wishful thinking.
Originally posted by John W. Mangrum
Here, I'll even break this down for you:
Total # of Reviews at Primary RPG Review Sites
Product......................................EN World............RPG.net
Ravenloft Third Edition...............7........................5
Secrets of the Dread Realms.....1........................1
Denizens of Darkness................4........................1
Van Richten's Arsenal................3.........................goose egg
Champions of Darkness.............1........................1
Heroes of Light..........................zip......................nothing
Ravenloft Gazetteer I................1.........................1
Ravenloft Gazetteer II...............zilch....................1
Ravenloft Gazetteer III.............1.........................1
VRG to the Walking Dead..........nada...................1
Ravenloft DMG...........................1.........................1
BTW, thanks to the literal handful of you who did make an effort at keeping Ravenloft in the public eye.
Ok...
You know, if you're all about promoting the product (which still has nothing to do with what I was talking about at the time), then maybe you should assemble a street team league...to promote the setting within their respective communities.
I'm all about Ravenloft keeping an active sponser, but at the same time, you have to realize that we who buy the product are doing our bit to keep Ravenloft alive. We don't need to be "chastised" for not doing a job that somebody gets paid to do.
If I read you wrong, then I apologize.
Otherwise...
Originally posted by John W. Mangrum
While most of you were shutting yourselves away in our message boards, I often found myself on other forums pointing out that, yes, Ravenloft was actually being supported in third edition.
While you say there was no damage done, I say that's quite a bit of wishful thinking.
Were the links to these sites even provided?
Were you asking people to go out and help promote the product?
Were you providing the links to these places, and telling us your cause?
I don't recall man...but then again, I never really was a hardcore SotK user...I was a gimp trying to write out ideas in the Tavern boards...(for the most, end, part)
:D I feel the need to rise to the defense of the format the SotK message board was actually run in. I never actually saw any of the 'I'm Bored' or 'What did you all do today?' posts. In fact, I never saw a single post that didn't relate in some way to Ravenloft material. I started a few posts, myself, and always felt the need to relate them to Ravenloft. I never forgot what the board was all about nor did I see anything that encouraged me to. I really never saw a single I'd have had subtracted from the boards nor can I thik of anything I'd have added. If there's a better model for this kind of message board. I do wish someone would point it out.:whatsthisOriginally posted by Manofevil
[b]
That's because there was always a monitor who shut down the thread (topic)...and or deleted it.
To say they weren't there is a pretty blatant lie.
I agree that SotK was a fairly solid model, in sofar as messageboards go, but there is most definitely room for improvement, let's not kid ourselves about that.
If somebody took what SotK was, and built on top of that...then that could be quite the place for Ravenloft. With or without the Off Topic board...
Man in the Murk - you seem to feel like people running a Ravenloft message board "owe" you a place to talk about anything you like. I see two main problems with this:
1) The person offering you the messageboard is paying for it. In some cases, this can involve paying for bandwidth or server space (especially if said person is trying to avoid inflicting you with ads). At one point, the threads from the off-topic board on SotK took up as much server space as the rest of the board combined! I think it's quite reasonable for that person to want their money to fund Ravenloft discussions only, if that's the reason for setting up the site in the first place.
2) Off-topic boards/discussions do *not* mean no extra work for the moderators. You might suggest that a moderator just "let the discussion run free", but I can promise you that this doesn't happen. As soon as "free" discussions are allowed, the moderator starts getting asked to intervene in a multitude of petty non-Ravenloft-related arguments or preceived insults. It's not fun - we Kargatane have been there.
Hence, I wouldn't even consider inflicting this on anyone setting up a new Ravenloft messageboard - it's not worth their trouble.
Regarding John's point - I don't think he's saying that all fans should be out there actively waving the flag for Ravenloft and promoting the setting on other sites. He's just saying that if we become an insular community on one board, the rest of the world (read: RPG community) will never know about our setting or how good it is. If our Ravenloft messageboard, however, becomes just one facet of our online existence, we unwittingly become ambassadors for Ravenloft all over the net. That doesn't stop us being a "community" with a central site or resource - but it does prevent Ravenloft being forgotten by the rest of the 'net.
Stu
Now that I've read all the arguments, I can see the reason for not having one. Guess I had heard them already. The problem, I think, is that no one thinks like us, and when people propose one thing, they never think it will be turned to evil (so to say), that is, bad use. But in fact that bad use then happens and either you have someone in place monitoring it or it will go heavily down the hill.
My point for having an OT-forum was simply to be able to talk about things of the real world with people from different cultures / countries whom I already know and who share some of my interests (they share a board with me). I think I'd never go to a politics-dedicated forum because that's not a hobby; that's merely a subject that one day pokes me in the ribs. A hobby board, now, would be a place where I already had a lot of people with whom I'd be reasonably intimate and with whom I'd like to trade opinions.
But then, you're right. This is not a Moo or a chatter, so there's no obligation (nor even expected) to provide a chatting area.
But there's one thing that people would probably have to enforce: if there's not an off-topic board, then there should not be ANY off-topic messages. I found at the Kargatane that politics, sex and religion messages were most rapidly blocked. But, on the other hand, there were several threads about the Washington Sniper and 9-11 that were not. I grant it that at the time of 9-11 the board was still new in Off-Topic experience (much of the blocking came afterwards) and it was such a great shock that it would be impossible to keep people shut. But things like the Space Shuttle explosion (later) or the movies passing in american cable TV, or about what such and such TV presenter were doing then were often domestic (ie, without interest for people outside the American space, because we simply didn't know what you were talking about) and with no relation to Ravenloft. And these thread were allowed to live.
That is perhaps one of the reasons people felt the need of an OT-forum, because at a certain time, certain topics were discriminated in relation to others with equal amount of relation to RL.
In reflection after all that I read and also from my experience at the SotK boards, perhaps the best thing to do is to curtail any discussion non-topic. Most especially those that are limited regionally. Or course, it will be hard to find guidelines with which everybody agrees.
W.C.
Originally posted by Kargatane
Might as well throw in my two cents on the off-topic discussions issue...
Man in the Murk - you seem to feel like people running a Ravenloft message board "owe" you a place to talk about anything you like. I see two main problems with this:
Whoa, hold up dude...I never said anything even close.
I'm just speaking ideals man.
...just so we're on the same page.
Now...
1) The person offering you the messageboard is paying for it. In some cases, this can involve paying for bandwidth or server space (especially if said person is trying to avoid inflicting you with ads). At one point, the threads from the off-topic board on SotK took up as much server space as the rest of the board combined! I think it's quite reasonable for that person to want their money to fund Ravenloft discussions only, if that's the reason for setting up the site in the first place.
Okay, so where do I send my cheque?
I'll throw fifty canadian a month, if it'll help put together a true Ravenloft online community...for real. It's not much, but if it'll justify my stay and add to the overall, then it's the least I can do.
That, and I agree with you: it's damn right reasonable for the person with the cash flow to have the site their way.
I don't think I ever could argue that.
2) Off-topic boards/discussions do *not* mean no extra work for the moderators. You might suggest that a moderator just "let the discussion run free", but I can promise you that this doesn't happen. As soon as "free" discussions are allowed, the moderator starts getting asked to intervene in a multitude of petty non-Ravenloft-related arguments or preceived insults. It's not fun - we Kargatane have been there.
Then...the moderator can reiterate that what goes down on the off topic board really has nothing to do with him/her, or the site. ie: read the complaining party the beforementioned disclaimer. They then go back to their duties at the other boards...problem solved.
All the same, I don't care which way somebody decides to create their little shrine to Ravenloft...I'll adapt, as best I can anyway, to those rules as laid down by whatever site I happen to stumble into. It may sound funny to some of you, but I'm pretty easy to get along with. I'm not hardcore with an off topic board, or without one. Like I said, I'm just throwing out some ideals ala bastard version of the Devil's advocate. There were some legitimate questions I had there (like, why have people meet at one place, and talk true talk in another?), but nothin I'm gonna go to war with. Equally honest, it was meant to be rhetorical, like I said in my first post on this subject.
Christ Stu, you think I care that much about some messageboard on the internet? Uhmm, no. Hell, I don't even have a computer at home...why would I care to a nutcase degree?
I just think it would be convenient if there was one place to do all your "shopping"...and I just thought...sniff...that...
hahaha
You get me now?
(Lighten up, guys. I'm not force-feeding you here!)
Regarding John's point - I don't think he's saying that all fans should be out there actively waving the flag for Ravenloft and promoting the setting on other sites. He's just saying that if we become an insular community on one board, the rest of the world (read: RPG community) will never know about our setting or how good it is. If our Ravenloft messageboard, however, becomes just one facet of our online existence, we unwittingly become ambassadors for Ravenloft all over the net. That doesn't stop us being a "community" with a central site or resource - but it does prevent Ravenloft being forgotten by the rest of the 'net.
Stu
Heh...funny that you're clearer about John's thoughts than he is...or maybe I'm just slow...
Fair enough, makes sense. Put that way.
P.S.: Looking back now, I can see that John said that...I just picked his say up when he quoted something I said. Chalk it up as communication breakdown I guess.
P.P.S.: My shout to SotK? Check out the handle...same crap, different pile. You guys crack me, man...
Hell, I rarely posted on the OT board. Hell, I rarely posted on the HBTM or the D20 boards...
Originally posted by Drinnik Shoehorn
I always thought Private Messaging was a way to talk to someone off topic.
Hell, I rarely posted on the OT board. Hell, I rarely posted on the HBTM or the D20 boards...
The great advantage of boards over private messages is when you want a conversation to be public and open, with everyone being able to participate and add their contribution. That's the great joy I find in boards which not even mailing lists can give me.
W.C.
Originally posted by Drinnik Shoehorn
But you can send PM's to many different people...
Even if you send it to many people, the discussion still isn't an open one. And if you send it to many users to make it public, its called "spamming". Kinda what Scipio did to promote his board.
Though I felt that the K site closing down was a bit harsh, I didn't see their reasons due to my pc dying (currently using my sister's to get online until mine is all fixed again, lol), but I did have fun watched Evanescence, heheheheh.
I am back though, so do start to worry about the insane ramblings I may come out with once again.
Blessings on the eve
Wiccy
Originally posted by Keg of Ale
Kinda what Scipio did to promote his board.
;)
Originally posted by The_Jester
Yay! Wiccy's back! Wiccy!! Oh, wait. who?
;)
Odd, I seem to be having this effect on alot of people lately, lol.
I am back, so is my pc and we are feeling very evil right now (the pc more so since it is nagging at me to buy a new motherboard, processor and cd/dvd/cd-rw drive in the coming months, lol).
Good to be back :D
Blessings on the eve
Wiccy
(AKA - The Lost Hedgewitch/Gabrek Krakul of the Undead Sea Scrolls)
Originally posted by The_Jester
Yay! Wiccy's back! Wiccy!! Oh, wait. who?
;)
The Sticky Wiccan?
yeesh. I dissapear for 3 weeks and everything goes to hell. last time I leave you guys unsupervised...;)
this board seems a little bright and sterile by comparison, but at least most of the same faces are back. besides...it could be much worse....we could have invaded and annexed the spelljammer board....*shudder*