Creation of an "Off-Topic" category

(Mike Evmm) #1

While developing with FP, I’ve often found myself stuck with errors and problems not strictly FlashPunk, but related (AS3 code or external libraries+FP problems usually).
Personally, the only forum I’m active on is FlashPunk Developers, and it’d be nice to ask help on some off-topic subjects every once in a while, so could an “Off-Topic” category be considered? (Especially after the Lounge disappeared.)
I understand why the admins would want to keep this place FlashPunk only, though.

(Darrin) #2

I like it. Perhaps not off topic but germane to game development, design, art, help wanted, AS3, etc.

(Mike Evmm) #3

Precisely. This post is now 20 characters long.

(Jacob Albano) #4

The lounge still exists, it’s just not very popular because only a few people have access to it for whatever reason. I’d support the creation of an offtopic category too. Most of my work doesn’t use Flashpunk nowadays but I’d still like to be able to share my creations with the community.

(Mike Evmm) #5

Strange? I used to be able to use the Lounge, but can’t anymore, I assumed it had been removed

(Zachary Lewis) #6

I’ve discussed this with a few people and we arrived at the opinion that the goals of the forum are:

  • Teaching developers how to fully utilize FlashPunk
  • Providing support for developers using FlashPunk
  • Sharing things created for/with FlashPunk
  • Planning and guiding the ongoing development of FlashPunk

The point was made that this forum is for FlashPunk. It’s the first place people usually go when they have questions (although it should be the documentation), so when they arrive, they should see people asking questions and receiving answers. If they start browsing and see a bunch of chatting and goofin’ around, they may look elsewhere.

Additionally, there are tons of places to socialize with friends and colleagues (like our IRC channel), and the forum devoted to helping and learning doesn’t need to be one of them.

@jacobalbano Shhh. I don’t know what you’re talking about. There definitely isn’t a forum category that unlocks after you’ve proven yourself to be a valuable member of the community by reading forum posts, participating in discussions and posting valuable comments that have received likes.

(Mike Evmm) #7

Oi, I’d proven myself!

As I said, I understand why admins would want this forum FP only. However the IRC is pretty deserted, we should fix that. I mean, I posted a lot of The Raven there the other day, and nobody seemed to notice.

(Mike Evmm) #8

I just wanted to clarify this wasn’t the point:

(Zachary Lewis) #9

There are also tons of sites dedicated to stuff like game development, design, art, et cetera that would be better for people to visit, since that discussion isn’t the main goal of this forum.

It’s like going to a steakhouse and ordering a sandwich. Sure, they can make one for you, but you’d be better off going to a deli that specializes in sandwiches. You’ll get a better sandwich, and it’ll be much faster.

(Jacob Albano) #10

I’ve said in the past that I’m definitely not in favor of a “general flash help” section; I personally don’t have much experience with Flex components or Greensock, for example, and there are enough flash forums that limiting this site to Flashpunk discussion makes sense.

Theoretically, if there was a place for fine upstanding members of the community to hang out and talk about whatever they wanted, I feel like that would do just fine as far as solving the problem proposed in this thread.

(Jacob Albano) #11

By Edgar Allen Poe? Weird. I distinctly remember being bored and typing that poem out in the first chat room I ever used.

(Mike Evmm) #12

If only :cry: …

(Martí Angelats i Ribera) #13

I never used a IRC. Isn’t it absolulty desert right now? (or it’s just me doing something wrong?)

If we can communicate this way i find it OK.

(Darrin) #14

So just a soft 2 cents input. I love Zach’s logical focus on FlashPunk only. I do think community is a bit more. I also think that marketing FP is a lot more. Showcase, marketing of FP games, business issues with FP games, art & sound for FP games. etc. I don’t think we need all of these. Just thinking out loud.

I’ve started using telegram for my dev buddies as well. Kind of cool because it works on all devices. I can start or join a channel there. It is really cool because you can put up screen shots etc and the chats are stored for long periods.

(Martí Angelats i Ribera) #15

I use Telegram too and i have to say that i didn’t think about it. It’s probaby one of the best solutions and even if is not official, we could make a group.

(B6ka) #16

Just my humble opinion: it would be very useful to have this category. This place is the focal point where all the FP developers come to, and many of them have very valuable experience specific to FP besides those listed above. It would be very useful to be able to get the feedback on off-topic issues here rather than searching for the answers elsewhere. Maybe we could decide on this by voting, democracy is usually good :wink:

(Jacob Albano) #17

This is something that definitely won’t happen. Like I said above, there are plenty of forums for general-purpose Flash help. Kirupa even uses Discourse now, so you should feel right at home. This forum is specifically for people looking for help with Flashpunk. We don’t cater to HaxePunk, even though it’s very similar, or Stage3dPunk, even though it’s a direct port. By limiting the scope of the discussion, we can guarantee that people who are active here have a high likelihood of being able to offer help.

I’ve never been part of a democratic internet forum and I shudder at the thought.

(Ultima2876) #18

I don’t think a democratic internet forum exists…

(Martí Angelats i Ribera) #19

I don’t think it should be democratic for a single reason. Not everyone spend the same amount of time here. So i’m not sure if the vote of people who only comes here a few minutes in a year should have the same value of someone who is regularly here. Is not like in real live where you spend 100% of your time in the earth.


PD: Even if democracy is the best system we have found so far, it’s not perfect and it have some risks.

(B6ka) #20

OK, let’s follow the instructions of Admiral General Aladeen then :wink:

p.s. I had some sort of a poll in mind.