Newgrounds.com — Everything, By Everyone.

Sorry guys, but I guess it's just my time to leave this place. It's realistically gone downward since I originally became a member here. I'm sorry everyone but maybe I'm just losing NG altogether in my life. I'll see you all around the BBS once in a while, but this will be my last post here. Thanks for everything guys.

At 6/27/09 09:29 AM, AnalPenguinFarming wrote: Sorry guys,

I'm sorry to see you go Anal. You were a good leader, and a great friend. Hopefully you'll stop by every once in a while to say hello or something.

I can also see why you would leave this place, and I don't blame you. This place has become extremely inactive, even after I PMed all of the members and got a positive from 95% of them. I go away for a week and no one posts. As of right now, there are only 5 committed members; me, Dark, Phantom, Short and Supra, and I'm not sure how committed Phantom and Supra are, either.

Personally, Ithink this should be shut down. It was great while it lasted, and with a lock, it can be revisited again and again to relive all of the old, nostalgic memories. But the NGDD is a nothing to do anymore, and there's no one around. We need to lock this thread before it becomes just a pathetic group of guys sitting around, talking about the old days and allowing their place to crumble.

Don't get me wrong; I love the NGDD just as much as any of you, but because I love it so much, I hate to see it like this. Who's with me.

At 6/27/09 10:48 PM, TheThing wrote: Don't get me wrong; I love the NGDD just as much as any of you, but because I love it so much, I hate to see it like this. Who's with me.

I'm somewhat divided against myself in this matter. On the one hand, I do hate seeing the place in such a weakened state. On the other, I'm not just yet ready to give up, not without at least one last try, preferably more. I'm just not the type to give up so easily.

This next part is to DarkSoldier:
Dude, I know you've got shit to do. We all do. But I don't exactly want to give up on the club just yet, and perhaps someone here feels like I do. So I'd ask for you to try again to post the current state of LD system development, for two reasons. One, so that we can have some discussion, pass some ideas around, maybe suggest some improvements. And two, so we can see how much effort you're putting in, and decide if we're willing to go along, or if we'd rather leave.

Either way, something's got to change around here, big time. Almost everyone here liked it when it was active, and everybody seems to be rather sad to see it so close to death. DS, the choice is up to you, more than anyone else, right now: you can give this thread a jump-start and possibly revive it, or you can ask someone with power to lock this thread and leave it to memory. Your move, man.

Hate to say I agree with APF about the club hoping that it would improve but I have seen how inactive it has become. I have not been happy here its always lacked the feeling of fun the thread got really depressing through no fault of there own. I have tried to post but I think I may quit unless something happens. The LD system may work but I want to be in a club where its fun and not so empty t. I hate to say I don't quite get the point of this club. I'm all for a new improved NGDD bit nothing has happened. Sorry APF you have such a rough time of it and you were all for this club I know but I feel that is more of a chore then pleasure so goodbye maybe for now.

At 6/27/09 10:48 PM, TheThing wrote:

At 6/27/09 09:29 AM, AnalPenguinFarming wrote: Sorry guys,

I'm sorry to see you go Anal. You were a good leader, and a great friend. Hopefully you'll stop by every once in a while to say hello or something.

I can also see why you would leave this place, and I don't blame you. This place has become extremely inactive, even after I PMed all of the members and got a positive from 95% of them. I go away for a week and no one posts. As of right now, there are only 5 committed members; me, Dark, Phantom, Short and Supra, and I'm not sure how committed Phantom and Supra are, either.

I am committed to follow the club's guidelines, and extend upon them myself, but there was no reason for me to post. I love helping new members out; it's self rewarding, something no medal can be gifted to you. It's an incredible experience to watch as a new flash artist in the making, and helping em' out step by step. When they finally submit something that passes judgment, it feels terrific. Don't label me down as an enemy, I've enjoyed being in this club (pissing off Phantom for change was an added side-bonus ;P) but I felt from the minute the LD system was announced, that the club wouldn't survive. It had no reason to other than it being a lounge for us, which is why I think it would be best to lock it, and reminisce about the "good ol' days."
TheThing, you've said it best.

Personally, Ithink this should be shut down. It was great while it lasted, and with a lock, it can be revisited again and again to relive all of the old, nostalgic memories. But the NGDD is a nothing to do anymore, and there's no one around. We need to lock this thread before it becomes just a pathetic group of guys sitting around, talking about the old days and allowing their place to crumble.

Don't get me wrong; I love the NGDD just as much as any of you, but because I love it so much, I hate to see it like this. Who's with me.

I am.

Kool club can i join the Club so far i have 200b/p points but normal whistle stats and just 12 reviews i want to join the flash department!!!!!!!!!

At 6/28/09 02:27 PM, nexusknight wrote: Kool club can i join the Club so far i have 200b/p points but normal whistle stats and just 12 reviews i want to join the flash department!!!!!!!!!

We're not accepting new members now, and might never again if things keep going as they are. Might want to learn to read at least the last few pages of a topic before posting.

At 6/28/09 02:59 PM, SoulMaster71 wrote:

At 6/28/09 02:27 PM, nexusknight wrote:

We're not accepting new members now, and might never again if things keep going as they are. Might want to learn to read at least the last few pages of a topic before posting.

Ok then wanna recreate this club?

At 6/28/09 03:01 PM, nexusknight wrote: Ok then wanna recreate this club?

Not exactly. See, when a club dies, it can't be recreated so easily as just starting a new thread. So the fate of this club, whether it will live on, perhaps, for a few more years, or whether it will die and be confined solely to memory, depends on the acts of one NG user, and that user hasn't made his next move just yet, if he's planning to move at all. We're all waiting on that.

Sadly, I'm not going to be able to find out whether this club will make it until July 9th. I'll be in Costa Rica, and I doubt I'll have much access to a computer done there.

Hopefully the right decision will be made, whatever that is, and this club can begin to move on.

At 6/28/09 08:56 PM, TheThing wrote: Sadly, I'm not going to be able to find out whether this club will make it until July 9th. I'll be in Costa Rica, and I doubt I'll have much access to a computer done there.

Hopefully the right decision will be made, whatever that is, and this club can begin to move on.

If the club rides on one member then it is a sign that it should be discontinued.

thats sad the club has to end aleast you made it though 2 years (=^_^=)

I hate to support the downfall of the NGDD, but now that TheThing wants to shut it down, I'll have to agree. I've been so busy and will continue to be busy. The NGDD is a great idea but too much for just one website. A mini-organization that helps many other websites would probably be better.

And I actually started working on this a while ago:

http://www.freepowerboards.com/manthasti ans/

I created rank avatars and signatures:

http://www.freepowerboards.com/manthasti ans/viewtopic.php?f=3&t=4

If you read through the Manthastian guide, you'll see what it's all about. Maybe we could move there and start helping other websites than just the NGDD? I have stopped working on Web Operation Forces but if I get some support, I will be able to get it done. And everyone who supports it before it is ready to take off will achieve high ranks.

I'm not trying to advertise, but I just thought of this while typing this post up and it may interest some members here who like the idea of the NGDD but would like to try something similar elsewhere, but lead by an NGDD member.

At 7/1/09 10:34 AM, ShortMonkey wrote: I hate to support the downfall of the NGDD, but now that TheThing wants to shut it down, I'll have to agree. I've been so busy and will continue to be busy. The NGDD is a great idea but too much for just one website. A mini-organization that helps many other websites would probably be better.

Alright. It seems that we've all reached a consensus to lock this thread, and preserve its great memories. I'll contact a moderator immediately. Well NGDD, it has been fun, especially under APF's and Phantom's great leadership.
Shortmonkey, only recently have I gotten to know you, and that was working on the collaboration. TheThing, PhantomLassuk, DarkSoldier, and everyone else, it was a pleasure being here and I hope to see you all on the forums.

At 7/1/09 12:44 PM, SupraAddict wrote: Well NGDD, it has been fun, especially under APF's and Phantom's great leadership.

*Sigh* I wasn't even here long....Not long enough to get to know you all well!

TheThing, PhantomLassuk, DarkSoldier, and everyone else, it was a pleasure being here and I hope to see you all on the forums.

For all its worth...I hope some day this club will arise again!

So long soldiers! Keep fighting the good fight!

*Salutes*

Alright, i think it's time for me to post. So I'm very sorry about not posting the ideas for the LD System. I got sick with fever, sore throat and i kept throwing up. Not exactly my perfect week. Then a few days ago my computer wouldn't work. I don't know why but it wouldn't. So i had to re-format. Good thing was i had re-formatted like 4 weeks ago so i already had most of files saved except for the New LD System Document i had created... but not to worry. I still remember most of the ideas and i still have the previous documents of the LD System. I'll now re-write the ideas for the LD System. It's going to take a few hours but you guys will get your LD System Ideas.

Now I'll start off by quoting some people.

At 6/27/09 10:48 PM, TheThing wrote:

We seriously need to talk man. I don't know if you still go on that Yahoo Messenger account you gave me but we need to talk.

I can also see why you would leave this place, and I don't blame you. This place has become extremely inactive, even after I PMed all of the members and got a positive from 95% of them. I go away for a week and no one posts. As of right now, there are only 5 committed members; me, Dark, Phantom, Short and Supra, and I'm not sure how committed Phantom and Supra are, either.

Phantom is committed. He's just busy with life (work, etc.). I keep him aware of the big things going on in the NGDD and he checks this place from time to time. Not as much as he'd like but he does.

Personally, Ithink this should be shut down. It was great while it lasted, and with a lock, it can be revisited again and again to relive all of the old, nostalgic memories. But the NGDD is a nothing to do anymore, and there's no one around. We need to lock this thread before it becomes just a pathetic group of guys sitting around, talking about the old days and allowing their place to crumble.

See, this is why we need to talk. I'm at one end of the table saying how I don't care if the NGDD becomes inactive because once the LD System is released the NGDD will become active again. And you're on the other side saying how you think this place should be locked before it becomes a pathetic group of guys sitting around. This place won't become a "pathetic group of guys sitting around" because now all the active NGDD members are leaving, saying goodbye, etc. So really we need to get the NGDD Administration on one side of the table. I already have Phantom informed of most if not all my actions towards the NGDD.

At 6/27/09 11:44 PM, SoulMaster71 wrote:

This next part is to DarkSoldier:
Dude, I know you've got shit to do. We all do. But I don't exactly want to give up on the club just yet, and perhaps someone here feels like I do. So I'd ask for you to try again to post the current state of LD system development, for two reasons. One, so that we can have some discussion, pass some ideas around, maybe suggest some improvements. And two, so we can see how much effort you're putting in, and decide if we're willing to go along, or if we'd rather leave.

I'm going to be honest with you. I have lost a tremendous amount of motivation in working with the LD System. There are great ideas for it but it just seems like a drag. Though, i will continue to work on it. I promised the NGDD a system and I will deliver that system hopefully soon because i am really upset with myself and the amount of time i have taken just to get things done. Anal had faith in me when he put me as NGDD General and I have failed him. I'm not proud of that.

And you will get the ideas I have for the LD System.

Either way, something's got to change around here, big time. Almost everyone here liked it when it was active, and everybody seems to be rather sad to see it so close to death. DS, the choice is up to you, more than anyone else, right now: you can give this thread a jump-start and possibly revive it, or you can ask someone with power to lock this thread and leave it to memory. Your move, man.

Look, this is why i said i don't care if this place is active or not. I prefer it when it's active because then I have you guys to comment, give suggestions/ideas to the LD System and all. I know i haven't posted any big ideas for the LD System yet but I will today.

I would never have this place locked. I would rather see it become completely inactive then have it locked.

At 6/28/09 09:26 PM, SupraAddict wrote:

If the club rides on one member then it is a sign that it should be discontinued.

No it's a sign that I've been keeping you guys in the dark which is something else I'm not happy with.

Laura Doffman System - List of Ideas v0.1
So here is my re-attempt in writing the list of ideas I had previously written but got deleted because of me accidentally closing Firefox. I hope I do not forget any ideas that I had and that I explain the ideas clearly so that you all understand. A lot of these ideas came from a conversation I had with Phantom.

The 5 NGDD Departments:
BBS Department
Flash Department
Audio Department
Art Department
Internal Affairs Department

Now you'll notice there's no "Portal Department". I never understood why the Portal Department was not a sub-department in the Flash Department. Well now all the departments protect their respective portal.

Art - Art portal
Audio - Audio Portal
Flash - Flash Portal

NO PORTAL DEPARTMENT.

The point system in the NGDD will be like the XR System. There will be no "NGDD Points". Each department has it's own set of points.

Art - Art Points
Audio - Audio Points
Flash - Flash Points
BBS - BBS Points
Internal Affairs (?) - I don't know if the IA (Internal Affairs) Dept. will have it's own set of points. You guys should discuss this.

Points will be handed out like in the XR System. By doing certain things you earn points. Though, you can only points for the department you're in. You can't earn BBS Points if you're in the Art Department. Or you can't earn Audio Points if you're in the Flash Department.

The NGDD will have missions again. Though, these missions will be much much different from what they were in the XR System. Missions can only be ran by Department leaders. Department leaders are encouraged to run missions and most likely will have to run a minimum of 2 missions a month. Missions have to do with something based on the Department name. So if you're the Flash Department Leader. You have to have missions based on Flash. And your whole department must participate unless they have a valid excuse validated by the Internal Affairs Department. I hope you guys understand this. This part was something i had much trouble writing the time before i closed Firefox accidentally.

Missions will be like:

E.g.

Review these 10 flash movies/games based on the following criteria: blah blah blah, I haven't really came up with the criteria yet.

Upgrade Complete!, by The-EXP Type: Game Rating: Everyone

Mastermind 4, by The-Swain Type: Movie Rating: Ages 13+

Cooking Sama, by Dei-Sama Type: Movie Rating: Ages 13+

Junior, by HotDiggedyDemon Type: Movie Rating: Ages 13+

Gravitaxis ++, by O-Ovinnie Type: Movie Rating: Ages 13+

Little Wheel, by fastgames Type: Game Rating: Everyone

Super Mario 63, by Runouw Type: Game Rating: Everyone

Facebook Twitter, by JohnnyUtah Type: Movie Rating: Ages 13+

8 Bit Pwny Club ep.1, by TheWeebl Type: Movie Rating: Ages 13+

Gravity's Just A Theory 2, by Oggy-cheese Type: Movie Rating: Everyone

If you have already written a review for one of these Flash Movies/Games do not attempt to submit it as one of your 10 reviews. Yeah, you'll have to submit the 10 reviews to your Department Leader or Head Secretary. Meaning, someone isn't going to go through your flash reviews to see if you wrote them or not. YOU MUST PROVIDE THE DIRECT LINKS TO YOUR REVIEWS IN A PM TO YOUR DEPARTMENT LEADER! So back to what i was saying about if you had already written a review for one of those 10 flash movies/games. You'll have to write a review for one (or more depending on how many flash movies/games you already had a review written for) of these 10 flash movies/games.

War, Snow and Fire, by Valerofond Type: Movie Rating: Everyone

Street Fighter Collab, by Stamper Type: Movie Rating: Adults Only

Spewer, by Bluebaby Type: Game Rating: Ages 13+

Mastermind 3, by The-Swain Type: Movie Rating: Ages 13+

Epic Battle Fantasy, by matt-likes-swords Type: Game Rating: Everyone

There She Is!! final step, by SamBakZa Type: Movie Rating: Everyone

Photoshop Color Tutorial!, by Wavechan Type: Game Rating: Everyone

The Real Legend 3, by Granfaloon Type: Movie Rating: Ages 13+

Mastermind: WC, by The-Swain Type: Game Rating: Ages 13+

Jerry, by HotDiggedyDemon Type: Movie Rating: Ages 13+

If you do not write 10 reviews then you do not gain or lose anything but it is highly recommended that you don't drop out.

Anyways... i hope you guys understood this part about Missions. It was hard to explain it when i was first writing it and it was certainly not easy writing it a 2nd time.

Next Stop: NGDD Ranks
The NGDD will have ranks. Department Ranks. Each Department will have it's own set of ranks. Each Department will have a Leader and a Secretary. *Please exclude the Internal Affairs Department from this conversation*

Not all the ranks have been decided for the Departments yet.
The secretary's role will be calculating the points for members. We know 1 secretary can't just be the one calculating all the points for the people in the Department. So we'll have sub-secretary's. Sub-secretary's will be given members to calculate their points.

E.g.

Secretary1 - User1, User2, User3 and User4
Secretary2 - User5, User6, User7 and User 8
Secretary3 - User 9, User10, User11 and User12
Secretary4 - User 13, User14, User15 and User16.

The NGDD will have weekly roster updates. I think monthly updates is just too long and it will make it harder to calculate the points. The secretary's will have to give all the points they have calculated for each member to the Department Leader, she/he will then make sure all those point calculations seem fine and will send it off to the Internal Affairs Department which will make the NGDD Weekly Roster Updates.

Contests
I'm not sure if the NGDD will have contests. The contests will most likely have to be Department based as well. And if there are contests, I don't know what prizes will be given. Maybe just points?
Remember, the LD System is something which i can use to build the new official system for the NGDD known to be called the New-NGDD System. So things can be changed.

Now a quick summary on the 5 Departments:

Art: The Art Department will be based on submitting Art in the Art portal, protecting the Art Portal from spammers, scouting people THAT ARE worthy of being scouted. And posting in the Art Forum.

Audio: The Audio Department will be based on submitting Audio in the Audio Portal, protecting the Audio Portal from spammers, posting in the Audio Forum and reviewing audio submissions (this includes giving constructive criticism).

Flash: The Flash Department will be based on submitting Flash in the Flash Portal, whistling abusive reviews/flash movies & games, protecting the Flash Portal from spammers, posting in the Flash Forum and reviewing Flash submissions (this includes giving constructive criticism).

BBS: The BBS Department is based on being a role-model for the other BBS posters, posting good posts, alerting the mods of spam, no backseat modding, creating threads and being an active BBS poster.

Internal Affairs: The Internal Affairs Department is the NGDD Administration. All big decisions will be handled right here. To join the IA Dept. you must be a member of the NGDD for at least 2 months. BEING PART OF THIS DEPARTMENT DOES NOT MEAN YOU'RE A NGDD ADMIN! It just means you're involved with all the big decisions being made.

NGDD Forum:
The NGDD will have a forum. Here, we can discuss private issues. Things we don't want the public to see or know.

The forum will not replace the DoDBot account.
The NGDD forum will look like a PHPBB3 forum.

On the NGDD Forum, we will have polls when a user wishes to join. Now only the department that the user wishes to join will be able to vote in that poll. Everyone else in the NGDD can only give their OPINION on the user. Their will be a probation system in the NGDD.
Conclusion:

I pretty much hope I haven't not forgotten any ideas. I think these were all the ideas i talked about the 1st time i wrote this. There are still many more ideas but I have yet to develop those ideas. I hope you guys understood all these ideas too. They weren't easy to write a 2nd time. I feel as if this time my post is a bit more sloppy than when i wrote it the first time. Oh well... i only have like 40 characters remaining...

So thanks for reading and i hope to get a lot of feedback!

Thanks, John~

All right, didn't get to read the ideas until now, but better late than never, right? They sound good, but here's my two cents:

1. Departments. Same old system I've always known, basically. But take note of this: we're going to need a sixth if and when the staff puts out the Literature Portal.

2. Points. I was thinking about a new point system myself, and I considered this. Say a member of the BBS Department joined at 1000 posts, and now has around 3000. He's been here for, oh I don't know, let's say a year. A user then comes in with 10,000 posts. The experienced club member is automatically lower than Mr. 10,000, just because of his lower post count.

So what I was thinking was, why not have stats from after the end of probation (that is, after full membership is attained) count maybe 2, 3, 4 times more than stats earned before that. Someone would have to put stats at the time of acceptance on the DoDbot account, so that stats could be tracked from there. Consider it like job experience: if you're working at Microsoft, as far as performance-based judgment goes, you're judged mainly on how good a job you've done at Microsoft, not in your previous job at Apple (though previous job experience is, of course, an important factor in hiring). So that's my idea.

3. Probation. The vast majority of users are going to need it, obviously. And some are going to need it more than others: imagine an ex-spammer, a former BBS troll, or joining. We're going to need a longer period to be assured he's reformed. And if a mod joins (unlikely, but possible), there's no reason not to let them in without probation. Probation periods will need to be decided on a case-by-case basis, I think.

4. Purpose. I think I stated my feelings about this last page, but I don't know if people saw, so I'll post them again here:
I'm thinking the purpose should be the same as I've always seen it to be, the same one set out on the first page of the original thread (not at the top, but somewhere on the page wondermuffin its creator gave it the purpose): to "defend NG from spammers, stupid clubs, ripp-offs etc" (his own words and misspellings, not mine), to "defend NG from dumb entries, whistle them, look for entries and clubs that are against the rules etc", by setting a good example, by voting fairly, by making quality submissions where applicable, by avoiding the known qualities of undesirable users (spammers, trolls, and rule-breakers, just to name a few), and by generally contributing positively to Newgrounds and its community.

I'll also add this: we're more than a bunch of goody-two-shoes. Sure we lead by example, but we lead with activity. That means flagging, fair B/P (no mass-voting or savewhoring, of course), that sort of thing. If there's something we can't deal with ourselves, we are willing to call up those with the power to do something (PMing a mod, or if necessary Tom or Wade, with any big problems). In any case, we are willing to take the lead in anything for the benefit of Newgrounds.

Use, modify, mutilate, or discard this at will.

5. Contests. If missions are being run by Department, Contests should probably involve the whole NGDD, or at least anyone who wants to participate. Maybe there should be one each year in the subject area of each Department except IA? One for Flash, one for Audio, one for Art, one for the BBS, and one for Lit when it comes out. Run by either the IA Department, or the Department in charge of protecting the respective area.

6. Personal disputes between members are going to happen. It doesn't matter who's running the place, you get more than three or four people together and there's going to be arguments. These should probably be handled over PM if they are private, but for the public matters, they should be kept to the coming NGDD forum DS mentioned.

OK, now that that's been said... Anyone else still watching this thread and have some ideas?

At 7/2/09 05:37 PM, SoulMaster71 wrote: All right, didn't get to read the ideas until now, but better late than never, right? They sound good, but here's my two cents:

1. Departments. Same old system I've always known, basically. But take note of this: we're going to need a sixth if and when the staff puts out the Literature Portal.

I don't want to get into discussion of the Literary Portal. For all i know, it's coming out in 2 years from now. It's not something I want to start developing until it's been released. All i hope is that it's released before I'm ready to release the LD System's successor, the New-NGDD System.

2. Points. I was thinking about a new point system myself, and I considered this. Say a member of the BBS Department joined at 1000 posts, and now has around 3000. He's been here for, oh I don't know, let's say a year. A user then comes in with 10,000 posts. The experienced club member is automatically lower than Mr. 10,000, just because of his lower post count.

Some may look at it that way. I don't and i hope the rest of the NGDD doesn't either. It's ironic but in most cases the person with the higher post count than someone else is most likely to have more spam posts. I'm not saying that all users with high post counts have spam posts but I'm sure if i looked in that person's post count I'd find a lot of useless posts. Let's just say the person with the higher post count had 10,000 posts and the person with the lower post count had 3000.

So what I was thinking was, why not have stats from after the end of probation (that is, after full membership is attained) count maybe 2, 3, 4 times more than stats earned before that. Someone would have to put stats at the time of acceptance on the DoDbot account, so that stats could be tracked from there. Consider it like job experience: if you're working at Microsoft, as far as performance-based judgment goes, you're judged mainly on how good a job you've done at Microsoft, not in your previous job at Apple (though previous job experience is, of course, an important factor in hiring). So that's my idea.

I'm not too sure if I understand you but I'm going to hope I do. You're saying tracking a person's stats from when they join the NGDD? Yes, that can work. We can do it. I just hope the people that will be counting the stats for each of these users doesn't find it too hectic.

3. Probation. The vast majority of users are going to need it, obviously. And some are going to need it more than others: imagine an ex-spammer, a former BBS troll, or joining. We're going to need a longer period to be assured he's reformed. And if a mod joins (unlikely, but possible), there's no reason not to let them in without probation. Probation periods will need to be decided on a case-by-case basis, I think.

I haven't even started to talk about probation. You can guarantee that probation will be tough. The requirements to join the NGDD and a Department will be high. I haven't decided the requirements but I know I'll be asking for a lot of high stats from a user.

I don't think probation length will be of matter. I can always kick someone out of the NGDD that i feel is being an ass towards others or just not performing the way he/she is expected to.

I think the NGDD should stick to it's probation policy. Everyone has to go through it. A mod isn't special. I mean, they have powers to ban and stuff but should this factor really be the factor in deciding whether the mod is allowed into the NGDD or not? OF COURSE NOT. If a mod doesn't meet the requirements to join, then that mod can't join. I don't want to sound mean but it would be unfair to the others who have to work their asses off just trying to pass our probation system.

4. Purpose. I think I stated my feelings about this last page, but I don't know if people saw, so I'll post them again here:
I'm thinking the purpose should be the same as I've always seen it to be, the same one set out on the first page of the original thread (not at the top, but somewhere on the page wondermuffin its creator gave it the purpose): to "defend NG from spammers, stupid clubs, ripp-offs etc" (his own words and misspellings, not mine), to "defend NG from dumb entries, whistle them, look for entries and clubs that are against the rules etc", by setting a good example, by voting fairly, by making quality submissions where applicable, by avoiding the known qualities of undesirable users (spammers, trolls, and rule-breakers, just to name a few), and by generally contributing positively to Newgrounds and its community.

The purpose of the NGDD can't be the same as what wondermuffin said. Newgrounds has changed a lot. Wondermuffin said "defend NG from spammers, stupid clubs, ripp-offs etc." How are we going to defend Newgrounds from "stupid clubs"? I don't know what Newgrounds was in 2004 but that sure as hell was a long time ago. Some of what Wondermuffin said is good and ok but if you read more of that first page and second page you'll see that he really had no clue what he was getting himself into. I'm saying that if we created a group today writing the stuff Wondermuffin said our thread would be locked in a mere second. Just by looking at the first posts of that NGDD thread, we looked like a role playing club. Which is really what the NGDD was at the time. But we evolved. We have structure now. We still are a role playing club but i don't like to say that. I think we're more of the "Future Role Models" for Newgrounds. We post smart, we protect Newgrounds from spam and other bad things. And we aren't looked upon as backseat modders so yeah...

I'll also add this: we're more than a bunch of goody-two-shoes. Sure we lead by example, but we lead with activity. That means flagging, fair B/P (no mass-voting or savewhoring, of course), that sort of thing. If there's something we can't deal with ourselves, we are willing to call up those with the power to do something (PMing a mod, or if necessary Tom or Wade, with any big problems). In any case, we are willing to take the lead in anything for the benefit of Newgrounds.

I don't think contacting Tom would do anything. He'll read our PM but I'm sure Wade would be the who has to deal with it.

Use, modify, mutilate, or discard this at will.

5. Contests. If missions are being run by Department, Contests should probably involve the whole NGDD, or at least anyone who wants to participate. Maybe there should be one each year in the subject area of each Department except IA? One for Flash, one for Audio, one for Art, one for the BBS, and one for Lit when it comes out. Run by either the IA Department, or the Department in charge of protecting the respective area.

See, we can't really have contests involving the whole entire NGDD. We could but then for contest prizes we're looking at prizes involving $$$, while if we were looking at prizes involving points, it could only be department contests then because like i mentioned previously, the audio department can't earn flash points, the art department can't earn BBS points, etc.

6. Personal disputes between members are going to happen. It doesn't matter who's running the place, you get more than three or four people together and there's going to be arguments. These should probably be handled over PM if they are private, but for the public matters, they should be kept to the coming NGDD forum DS mentioned.

If the dispute becomes a big one then i will remove the users involve from the NGDD. Look, if you can't be nice with your fellow peers then really how worthy are you to the NGDD?

OK, now that that's been said... Anyone else still watching this thread and have some ideas?

I'm always watching this thread :)

At 7/2/09 06:43 PM, DarkSoldier wrote: I don't want to get into discussion of the Literary Portal. For all i know, it's coming out in 2 years from now. It's not something I want to start developing until it's been released.

Understood, but just making sure you're aware that it will have to be dealt with eventually, either by you or by your successor (whoever that may be).

Some may look at it that way. I don't and i hope the rest of the NGDD doesn't either. It's ironic but in most cases the person with the higher post count than someone else is most likely to have more spam posts. I'm not saying that all users with high post counts have spam posts but I'm sure if i looked in that person's post count I'd find a lot of useless posts.

Not if Mr. 10,000 signed up 4 or more years before the other user. Of course there's a possibility of that, the older poster could have gone through a long or hard noob stage with a good number of bans, but having more posts obviously doesn't imply BBS spam. And from the point of view of BBS Department points, the guy with 10,000 would automatically start with more, and under the old system that translated to rank.

I'm not too sure if I understand you but I'm going to hope I do. You're saying tracking a person's stats from when they join the NGDD? Yes, that can work. We can do it. I just hope the people that will be counting the stats for each of these users doesn't find it too hectic.

Pretty much. Older, pre-acceptance stats would be worth less than stats earned while in the NGDD.

I haven't even started to talk about probation. You can guarantee that probation will be tough. The requirements to join the NGDD and a Department will be high. I haven't decided the requirements but I know I'll be asking for a lot of high stats from a user.

Shouldn't be too high though, don't want to scare off everyone. Though keeping out complete n00bs is a good idea, I'm certain for example in the BBS Department, 1000 posts with a high quality rate would be enough.

I don't think probation length will be of matter. I can always kick someone out of the NGDD that i feel is being an ass towards others or just not performing the way he/she is expected to.

I guess, but it's something to consider. After all, someone coming in from the EGB (a respectable group with a fairly high overlap with the NGDD) has already passed a screening for quality, while a known member of a spam group, of course, might have a little more work to prove himself.

I think the NGDD should stick to it's probation policy. Everyone has to go through it. A mod isn't special. I mean, they have powers to ban and stuff but should this factor really be the factor in deciding whether the mod is allowed into the NGDD or not? OF COURSE NOT. If a mod doesn't meet the requirements to join, then that mod can't join. I don't want to sound mean but it would be unfair to the others who have to work their asses off just trying to pass our probation system.

OK, I understand. Plus, I can't think of a mod who would fit the basic requirements and not pass the quality test.

The purpose of the NGDD can't be the same as what wondermuffin said. Newgrounds has changed a lot. Wondermuffin said "defend NG from spammers, stupid clubs, ripp-offs etc." How are we going to defend Newgrounds from "stupid clubs"? I don't know what Newgrounds was in 2004 but that sure as hell was a long time ago. Some of what Wondermuffin said is good and ok but if you read more of that first page and second page you'll see that he really had no clue what he was getting himself into. I'm saying that if we created a group today writing the stuff Wondermuffin said our thread would be locked in a mere second. Just by looking at the first posts of that NGDD thread, we looked like a role playing club. Which is really what the NGDD was at the time. But we evolved. We have structure now. We still are a role playing club but i don't like to say that. I think we're more of the "Future Role Models" for Newgrounds. We post smart, we protect Newgrounds from spam and other bad things. And we aren't looked upon as backseat modders so yeah...

Of course. "The same as I've always seen it to be" means just that. I just happened to mention wondermuffin's comments to connect the beginning to the present.

Of course even back then all they could do against "stupid clubs" was to inform users about lack of structure and wait for a mod to show up and lock it, and lack of structure was acceptable in those days (case in point: we're posting in its descendant right now).

I don't think contacting Tom would do anything. He'll read our PM but I'm sure Wade would be the who has to deal with it.

It's actually an open secret among certain groups of Newgrounders that Tom responds to PMs faster than Wade does.

See, we can't really have contests involving the whole entire NGDD. We could but then for contest prizes we're looking at prizes involving $$$, while if we were looking at prizes involving points, it could only be department contests then because like i mentioned previously, the audio department can't earn flash points, the art department can't earn BBS points, etc.

I was actually thinking something else after hearing your idea, so I'd ask that you just hear me out: one set of points for each person. Depending on their Department, the way they earn points would be different: missions for each Department would be worth a certain amount to the members of that Department (and worthless to other Departments). Members of the BBS Department get points based on posting, members of the Flash Department earn points based on B/P, Flash reviews, and submissions, and that sort of thing, with other Departments' activities providing no points. However, winning an NGDD-wide contest would provide points for anyone, in any Department. That way, we encourage specialization while periodically discouraging complete neglect of other aspects of the Newgrounds experience.

If the dispute becomes a big one then i will remove the users involve from the NGDD. Look, if you can't be nice with your fellow peers then really how worthy are you to the NGDD?

But occasionally there will be an issue, whether it's over music or over a specific NG-related position, and if it's going to spill over anywhere, secure rooms in private forums would be better than here on Newgrounds.

I'm always watching this thread :)

Hopefully someone else is too.

At 7/2/09 09:40 PM, SoulMaster71 wrote: Hopefully someone else is too.

I have... ever since I quit. I come to you guys as a leader of the NGPD, not as a former member. As for this Dept. lacking activity, I can ask my officers to take a look at the Dept. and see if they would like to join. We've grown in numbers and I'm sure at least a few would enjoy being part of the Dept. As for the LD system, I can barely keep up with it. I hope you consider my offering and put all hostility aside... if you know what I mean.

At 7/4/09 05:28 PM, Gu-rrilla wrote: I hope you consider my offering and put all hostility aside... if you know what I mean.

I know I can, though I have severe doubts about Phantom being able to do the same. You questioned his leadership, and he's not (from what I know) the type to just "forgive and forget", as the saying goes. And let's not forget that the mods have had to show up and get you guys back on track! Not exactly the type of behavior or publicity the NGDD wants.

Still, if the Police help out with the NGDD reconstruction, I'm sure we'd be glad to let them do so, and to let them join, if they want to, when it's over. Though I only speak for the decisions I'd make, not what Phantom or DarkSoldier would do.

At 7/2/09 09:40 PM, SoulMaster71 wrote:

Some may look at it that way. I don't and i hope the rest of the NGDD doesn't either. It's ironic but in most cases the person with the higher post count than someone else is most likely to have more spam posts. I'm not saying that all users with high post counts have spam posts but I'm sure if i looked in that person's post count I'd find a lot of useless posts.
Not if Mr. 10,000 signed up 4 or more years before the other user. Of course there's a possibility of that, the older poster could have gone through a long or hard noob stage with a good number of bans, but having more posts obviously doesn't imply BBS spam. And from the point of view of BBS Department points, the guy with 10,000 would automatically start with more, and under the old system that translated to rank.

Are you sure about that? As the BBS Department Leader i never gave anyone XR based on the current amount of posts they had before they were in the NGDD. I always started counting XR for them once they had become a member of the BBS Department.

I was actually thinking something else after hearing your idea, so I'd ask that you just hear me out: one set of points for each person. Depending on their Department, the way they earn points would be different: missions for each Department would be worth a certain amount to the members of that Department (and worthless to other Departments). Members of the BBS Department get points based on posting, members of the Flash Department earn points based on B/P, Flash reviews, and submissions, and that sort of thing, with other Departments' activities providing no points. However, winning an NGDD-wide contest would provide points for anyone, in any Department. That way, we encourage specialization while periodically discouraging complete neglect of other aspects of the Newgrounds experience.

I'm not so sure I understand you here either but I'm going to think that I do understand you. You're talking about having NGDD Contests and the people that participate in it only get points based on the activities the Department they're in allows them to do?

To be honest, before I started working on the "Missions" for the NGDD, i would always say how being part of the NGDD would make your job be protecting all of Newgrounds in every way. But it's now not so simple to do that. Obviously, you can only be part of 1 department and having 2 different ranks (Department Ranks + NGDD Ranks) is just way to complicated and would take a lot of people counting the points up.

At 7/4/09 05:28 PM, Gu-rrilla wrote:

I have... ever since I quit. I come to you guys as a leader of the NGPD, not as a former member. As for this Dept. lacking activity, I can ask my officers to take a look at the Dept. and see if they would like to join. We've grown in numbers and I'm sure at least a few would enjoy being part of the Dept. As for the LD system, I can barely keep up with it. I hope you consider my offering and put all hostility aside... if you know what I mean.

How can you say you still pay attention to the NGDD when your last post was like May 27th or something around that? Do you just lurk a lot without posting? Even as a leader of the NGPD you don't seem very active on the Newgrounds BBS. Though, i know you tend to disappear for a long period of time and then come back to newgrounds and then disappear again and so on.

I'm actually going to ask the NGPD if they're interested in joining the NGDD but only once the LD System is complete. I appreciate your offer but I'm going to put it aside as I don't think now is the right time to make a decision on it. The LD System is close to complete but not close enough.

At 7/5/09 11:14 PM, DarkSoldier wrote: Are you sure about that? As the BBS Department Leader i never gave anyone XR based on the current amount of posts they had before they were in the NGDD. I always started counting XR for them once they had become a member of the BBS Department.

Guess I just made an ass out of myself then, I always thought it was otherwise. Sorry 'bout that!

I'm not so sure I understand you here either but I'm going to think that I do understand you. You're talking about having NGDD Contests and the people that participate in it only get points based on the activities the Department they're in allows them to do?

Not really. The NGDD Contests would be open to all, equal point rewards for all. Different Departments would each have their specialty, and other than Contests would only get points for the specialty, but a Contest would give points to whoever won. That way, there don't need to be multiple categories of points, and anyone could participate in the Contests (providing an essential difference between Contests and Department-specific Missions).

To be honest, before I started working on the "Missions" for the NGDD, i would always say how being part of the NGDD would make your job be protecting all of Newgrounds in every way. But it's now not so simple to do that. Obviously, you can only be part of 1 department and having 2 different ranks (Department Ranks + NGDD Ranks) is just way to complicated and would take a lot of people counting the points up.

Very true, but my proposal doesn't require that.

Of course, it's your design, not mine, and if you think I'm sounding completely out of my mind here, it's OK to just ignore anything stupid I say. You and Phantom are the leaders here, I'm just some dude who disappeared after the Audio Department leader got v&.

Hi , i would like to join the the department i dont have much experience WITH flash , but i want to help the portal by blamming protecting flagging ext. I hope to get a response soon.

At 7/9/09 10:12 PM, darktrogdor wrote: Hi , i would like to join the the department i dont have much experience WITH flash , but i want to help the portal by blamming protecting flagging ext. I hope to get a response soon.

It would be wise to read the most recent pages before posting. At this point, due to upcoming widespread reconstruction of the NGDD, we are not accepting members. Also this is your first BBS post, no Blams, no Saves, 11 reviews (most of them of rather low quality), there's no reason to believe you've ever deposited points, no Flash or Audio... Even if the Department of Defense was accepting new members, you would not be eligible.

I would suggest that you get out there and do some B/P and flagging on your own, post in some threads somewhere (maybe you'll find something that interests you in the Video Games forum), work hard and you'll eventually meet NGDD membership standards. Then you can come back to join, perhaps, or if by that point construction is still happening, to help and to join when it's complete.

Least i still have my dignity.....

Well, I'm back, and I have to leave again tomorrow. I don't have much time, so I'll see if I can skim over the LD system and resulting discussions.

I'm glad that the club is starting to move forward. Hopefully we can continue that momentum.

Sorry about my inactivity here these past few days. I was banned on the BBS for posting a photoshop in a photoshop thread :\

At 7/6/09 11:22 PM, SoulMaster71 wrote: At 7/5/09 11:14 PM, DarkSoldier wrote: I'm not so sure I understand you here either but I'm going to think that I do understand you. You're talking about having NGDD Contests and the people that participate in it only get points based on the activities the Department they're in allows them to do?

Not really. The NGDD Contests would be open to all, equal point rewards for all. Different Departments would each have their specialty, and other than Contests would only get points for the specialty, but a Contest would give points to whoever won. That way, there don't need to be multiple categories of points, and anyone could participate in the Contests (providing an essential difference between Contests and Department-specific Missions).

A better explanation and i appreciate it but i don't feel like I'm 100% understanding this.

So you're saying have contests which everyone can participate in and basically points can be earned but the points have no specific name. So therefore whoever has won those points will have it added to their department points? So like if the contest prize is 100 points and i have 200 BBS Points, i would then have 300 BBS Points correct? It could work though i don't know. I'll have to do more research on it.

To be honest, before I started working on the "Missions" for the NGDD, i would always say how being part of the NGDD would make your job be protecting all of Newgrounds in every way. But it's now not so simple to do that. Obviously, you can only be part of 1 department and having 2 different ranks (Department Ranks + NGDD Ranks) is just way to complicated and would take a lot of people counting the points up.

Very true, but my proposal doesn't require that.

Of course, it's your design, not mine, and if you think I'm sounding completely out of my mind here, it's OK to just ignore anything stupid I say. You and Phantom are the leaders here, I'm just some dude who disappeared after the Audio Department leader got v&.

I don't like to say it's my design even though I am the one working on it. I'd rather we say it's our design :)
But no, i appreciate all the ideas coming from you guys. Hell, it's easier when you have people throwing you ideas instead of having to come up with your own, in my opinion that is.
TheThing is also a leader which everyone seems to be forgetting lol. Yeah... Sirtom... let's not remind ourselves of him.

John~

Sorry I'm late in posting, I completely forgot about Newgrounds (other than depositing) for the last few days.

At 7/11/09 01:30 PM, DarkSoldier wrote: So you're saying have contests which everyone can participate in and basically points can be earned but the points have no specific name. So therefore whoever has won those points will have it added to their department points? So like if the contest prize is 100 points and i have 200 BBS Points, i would then have 300 BBS Points correct? It could work though i don't know. I'll have to do more research on it.

Yeah, pretty much like that. If there's nothing that involves and unites the whole NGDD, how can we claim we're all one group? My idea's the best way I could think of to keep us all on the same page.

I don't like to say it's my design even though I am the one working on it. I'd rather we say it's our design :)

You can call it that if you want, we're both thinking together on this (if you're keeping Phantom informed he's probably thinking too, and anyone else who comes back will probably try to get themselves involved). In the end though, you're the one deciding what becomes the system and what is left behind. Well, you and the other leaders.

But no, i appreciate all the ideas coming from you guys. Hell, it's easier when you have people throwing you ideas instead of having to come up with your own, in my opinion that is.

I'm sure it is. It's hard to write a story without inspiration in content and style, so I know it would be hard to make a working statistical system without some external ideas.

TheThing is also a leader which everyone seems to be forgetting lol.

Oh, yeah. He's been away a lot lately, busy with vacations, so it's easy to forget that he helps run the place.