Happy E3 everyone! There's a couple grab bag type topics I want to address and I may as well do them all in one place. Stick with me :)
- Be sure to enter to win $400 just by commenting http://n4g.com/user/blogpos...
- The Mainsite speed (or lack thereof): obviously we've been getting hit even harder than usual in the weeks leading up to and of E3. Today we took the site down for a few minutes for a quick fix that we hoped would speed things up for everyone, and are in the process of trying a few more tricks.
- You may see Mods and Admins wandering around this week with "E3" versions of the usernames - CgoodnoE3, for example! This is also related to speediness: the mod and admin accounts are some of the most data-heavy, there's so much action history, and so for this week only some are opting to use temp accounts so that they can more quickly address things around the site. Time is definitely of the essence this week!
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-The N4G forums moved! If you try to visit the N4G Forums, you'll be redirected to a temporary board: http://n4g.freeforums.net/
This is because our old forums were just dragging and high maintenance, while not being what we want at all - to the point that they were detracting from the NEW forums and mainsite in development! So here's the new clubhouse.
-BUBBLES. Yes, I did just mention the new site and forums, which are coming along nicely. One of the big changes that I know we've mentioned but I'm not sure we ever mentioned in an Officially Official way is that there will not be bubbles in the new comment system. I won't say more about the new system, but if you hate bubbles then rejoice. REJOICE!
No bubble system doesn't mean "no system"...just no bubbles.
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For the Contributors: Industry Professionals
Sometimes culture muddies up our original intent. Sometimes we have to more directly steer the user-driven ship that is N4G (this comes to mind: http://n4g.com/user/blogpos... )
N4G is user-driven, but we do have Guidelines. The intent of N4G as a user-driven site is for those Guidelines to be as permissive as possible, with as much news from as broad a stream of sources as possible, with users determining their fit and newsworthiness.
It has become cultural practice among staff and members that "industry professional" is rigidly defined, usually as a developer or publisher. This definition does not allow for the breadth of our industry, and the professionals in it. Moving forward, the definition to keep in mind is consistent with the universally accepted one: the games industry is your main paid occupation, not your past-time. So while this definition is more permissive, I'm going to shut one door right now: "industry professional" does not mean the $50 someone might make on ads on their blog. The games industry must be the person's livelihood. For example...I'm an industry professional!
There are a couple areas this applies in our Guidelines that I'll highlight:
Sourcing: Internet forums and message boards do not normally qualify as a reliable source. However, linking to screenshots, scans, images, and videos posted on forums is ok. You can also link to forum posts if the post is made by an industry professional. Twitter posts are also an acceptable source of news, but only if they are made by an industry professional.
Opinion Pieces: Articles that are of a more speculative nature or where the author shares his or her opinion should be filed as an Opinion Piece when selecting story type. The opinion piece should be well written and be of interest to the community. Personal blogs do not qualify as a legit source for opinion pieces unless the author is an industry professional.
Reviews: When posting reviews of a product, movie or video game make sure the product is still new and of interest to the community. The review should also be from an established website or publication. Reviews from personal blogs and web forums do not count as a legit source unless the person is an industry professional. Reviews should be well written and of interest to the community.
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Okay, that's all for now (I think)!
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Seriously...no bubbles in the new system.
So now georgenoob, frigiddarkness and all the other trolls on this site can now wander free?
Your all doing a great job through this hecktic E3 time, thanks for the info and good luck keeping everything up and running!
I just want to know if 3 bubble people are the only ones with one account? How in the hell do people have so many bubbles
I won't say more about the new system, but if you hate bubbles then rejoice. REJOICE!"
But what if we like them? Look at this:
http://www.reactiongifs.com...
You've just taken away a national n4g pasttime of bubble catching! All the butt-kissing, playing favorites, and other tactics will have no point without badges of honor to show for it, dang it! >:(
roar