Threedy Forums. Improvements. Suggestions. Please contribute.

[Chris-3DT]

We all know that threedy has not been what it was for a couple of months now.
We therefore ask you to help us making threedy the place you called home once more. You are the forums and the forums are you. Without the members forums are nothing, with the contribution of every single member forums can be so much more.

[Jason-Lavoie]

The thing I woudl really like and appreciate, is more admin and mod contribution to the forums, like not running it (cause you are doing a great job) but, more like criting.

I know all of you do crit, but I don't think its enough (in my opinion) People are complaining that newer people do not get helped a lot, and I know that we the members have to chnage that, but you are members as well.

I rarly see any admin or mod comment on a new persons model, or art or what not, and its not a terrible thing that you don't, but its nice to know that you are looking at our modelsor art, and you are trying to help.

And I will admit, I tend to go to the people who have better loking models, or art, but I am definatly trying to chnage that, because I remember when i was new to modeling, I really didn't get much help, only a few helped me, and the biggest one was Knut in my opinion.

Thats my 2 cents, I am sure I will have more.

But I just want to say, that you guys are doing a great job running threedy, if there is a problem, you try and fix it, and you do listen to the members, which is very hard to find these days on forums.

So thanks :)

[BlackSeer]

To be honest this one of few forums I seen where the staff post on regular base and thats good.

I know a lot of people that are afraid of posting criq becuse they are uncertain what do say, except they like it. Maybe somone should make a thread were a number of things to look for is mentioned to give new folks help on the way?

When the those that been here a long time leaves they take with them the spirit, that will not solve the issue they walk away from just make it larger.

So other idea would be making a thread on a subject, like a tutorial then new people can show what they learned and ask questions to the more advanced how to do certain aspects of the modeling. Beginner aid program or something :)

[Phynius Gauge]

I agree with Jason, in that if you guys were to critique the models of the newbians a little bit more, I think they would feel much more welcome here. I am in no way implying that you guys are slacking off, as you do a great job keeping these forums together (please don't smite me :)). But if you moderators don't have your hands full with other stuff, I think it would be a great way to improve the feeling of being in a community.

Also, I know 3dtotal is like the front page here at threedy, but I think it would be really cool if you guys had a little front page deal similar to CG Talk. I don't visit 3dtotal as often as I do the forums, so I probably miss a lot of the good work here on the forums that you guys post links to at 3dtotal. But if there were links to the worthy works staring you in the face right when you come to threedy, I think that a lot more work would go appreciated around here. I don't know anything about internet coding and all that jargon, so it may be easier said than done, but it's just a suggestion.

I think the speed sessions have done great in improving a community spirit, so much props to the mods who cooked that up :).

In general I think that threedy should be more tightly integrated with 3dtotal, because at the moment they seem like two seperate websites rather than a symbiosis. I think it would eliminate a lot of unneeded questions that can be answered by looking at the 3dtotal tutorials, and would also give us more to talk about in the general discussion section, because you could post links to cool websites or interviews at the top of the front page, or something like that.

In general I'll try to help improve the forums by offering more of my input to people who might need it, even though I'm no master, I think I could still help some of the newbies with advice or whatever.

Good idea Blackseer, you could have a tutorial thread/section where people could post their tutorial driven works.

In general I just think all the seasoned members who are still around to fight the good fight should try and help the newer members more often, because it is up to us to contribute to the environment of the forums, and to help restore it to the thriving place that it once was (even though I don't think it's half as bad as some people are making it out to be).

[Jason-Lavoie]

Tottaly agree with both you guys. I have been trying recently to try and help the new people here, mostly i do the moldeing help, because I am not the best at artwork (neither moldeing as well) but i certinaly feel more comfortable critting models.

Now I have another suggestion, i know that you have Frontpagers, and of course, the frontpagers are very VERY nice models or artwork, but how about you relise the smaller people.

Such as newer folks, have alittle section called "Most Improved" or somthing, because its telling the people who are curinsg the site, that you do relise pro talent, and then novice talent.

When i joined here I thought it was a pro place with snooty people like CGTalk (i really don't like CG Talk, but that is just my opinion)

So some more 2 cents from yours truly :)

[Beatrix_Kiddo]

the front can be somewhat intimidating, but i think that it should stay the way it is because it shows that the site does have quality standards, not just as far as artwork, but also the way its run and what not. It cant be a site that babies beginners, but rather, inspires, or pushes them to grow. I know that I see the images on the front, and it makes me want to make something even better. If I saw some beginner images, id be like, what the hell is this crap, and leave. Not because it is bad work, but because it says something about the quality and nature of the site.

lets just say that i wouldnt want any of my own crap on the front page right now.

[Dill]

add more colour schemes to the board... seriously i think its the dark colours that have an effect on everyone

[MonteCristo]

Jason, has an interesting point about us mods not critting enough. I think that part of the reason for this is the volume of stuff that goes through here. There are certain members (THEY KNOW WHO THEY ARE) that post far too many things. They start far too many new projects and never finish them and post far too many tiny updates. As a result the volume is more than we can reasonably handle. Perhaps if they stopped a bit and gave everyone else a chance we might get somewhere.

I also think that points about improvement would really help too. A while ago I suggested that we, the mods should have an awards system. We could award medals for various things such as:

Medal of Excellence. - For great work.

Medal of Improvement (This award is given to people who listen to the crits they recieve, and radically improve their project of the course of time.)

Medal of Loyalty - for the good guys who stick with us over time, not necessarily posts.

Medal of Insight - (A personal award to a user) If someone posts consistently well, with helpful crits, and display a level of diplomacy with flame war type things.

These are just suggestions, but I think they would be worth earning, and also help to boost morale across the forums.

[MonteCristo]

I agree that newbies could do with a bit more help from us, and sometimes I do try. But one thing gets on my nerves is giving someone a suggestion, only to be told that "they knew that already" or that they were planning on that. Now coming from intermediate to expert users, I think that can be fine and fair enough, but if you are a learner in the early stages you need to grab all the help you can get. A great example of this is Pikmin. He came to these forums a long way back and was a complete beginner. But he always appreciated the help, and asked for insight; he listened; he improved. Now He works for UBI in Montreal, and regularly has characters posted on the Front Page. I am proud of him. :D
What I'm saying is that we mods have fairly good memories for these things, and we may be less inclined to help people if they don't accept or appreciate the help. It might seem shallow but that's the way of the world.

Anyway, I'll see what I can do with upping the level a bit. But can I ask one think of ceratin people? Stop spamming the off-topic threads with garbage please. The less of that I have to read through, the more I can help other people.

[Jason-Lavoie]

But its an off-topic forum dude, this is like where spammers are born, if you want to stop the spam, i suggest you get rid of the Off-Topic forum, or maybe call it somthing different, cause if you look at other forums with an off topic part, you get some pretty weird things, and spammers.

[Daniel]

Offtopic doesn't have to mean: Oh, I saw a cat today, I'll post about it!

or: What shouldn't I do in public? I'll post about it!

It's where you can talk about other interests, not where you can post the most idiotic thread known to man and win an award. And I have a feeling it will clean up soon.

[Jon]

Hi,

I came here from the thread in Off Topic about people leaving Threedy - and I was sad to see that many of the most experienced and respected members of Threedy have / are contemplating leaving. Although new members join everyday, it would be terrible if these members left.

I must say that I myself have seen a drop in the amount of work (and updates) posted - especially through the summer. However, this seems to be improving, yet I still find myself visiting less frequently than I did before.

The members of this forum, as many people have said, are the most important things - and without them and their contributions, Threedy would be less interesting, dead, and would eventually, close, if enough people began to 'leave'.

I think, and I know people will probably flame me for this, that instead of leaving Threedy - all of these members should try to make it better; posting comments on both new and experienced artist's work. Now, I know that this topic is far from how to improve Threedy (from the Admin's perspective), but I think that it has to be said. Why did we all join Threedy originally? Because there are a lot of experienced, and non-experienced artists - and a great team of Moderators who check the site thoroughly. I don't think I will leave: Threedy needs work, but a secure and friendly community lay beneath it.

Post your improvements, but I think this is an important reason why Threedy has seen such comments recently.

-Jon

[Lord Soc]

I know I'm fairly new here, but here goes.

I agree with what people have said so far, especially MonteChristo's Awards System suggestion and Phynius Gauge. The speed challenges were a stroke of genius. :D

It would be nice to see certain rules more strictly enforced, however, especially with regards to useless critiques that read "WOW, OMG, really good. Keep it up!" and gratuitous "updates". I know mods don't always like being policemen, but people will benefit and love you -and threedy- all the more. I suppose us members could help by reporting such posts more often, too.

One thing that strikes me as a shame is that threedy has so many registered members and such a tiny number of currently active ones, not all of whom are "useful". While this is to be expected with free forums, this could be improved. Another site I'm a member of 'screens' each potential member before allowing them to become a registered user. This involves filling out a questionnaire as part of the registration form, which basically quizes people to make sure they've read and understood the rules, are capable of writing half-decent crits and know enough english to be able to communicate. This would mean a lot of work for the mods, though.

I believe everyone should be encouraged to post crits, no matter what their experience. If you post advice that someone thinks is wrong, or can be improved on, they can crit your crit and then you'll learn something new, too.

[<<GhosTS>>]

Well first of all I must say...I'v been to dozens of places before Threedy..But this forum is the best I came across..The Mods are doing a great work..they are critting the models and posting more than any mods on other forums..

Now for the recent events.......

I'm so sad about all these members leaving..Specially ones like stripe..

The mods are posting as many as could..i know..but you can always try more..

I also like the idea of Monte about the award system..
I think you should give it a try because that makes all the members inspired..

Also I suggested some time ago to have a new forum where Mods will select the best artwork from the Final 3d Art sections and put it there..

These things will be help newbies too..they will see the good artwork and they will try to make things better..
Then those useless threads that will stop in half way will stop because they will understand the true quality work..

The Offtopic...

the offtopic s a very dangerous place these days..So many useless threads..The offtopic must be a place where people post thing that in INTERESTING..or FUNNY..Offtopic isn't a place ARGUMENTS..

The saddest thing is most of the members post in Offtopic than any other part in threedy..This is a 3D forum guys..The main part is the Final 3d Artwork/WIP 3D or 2d sections..not the Offtopic..

This goes to all the members..think twice before posting..
When you are critting a model just post your ideas...don't diss the artist..Always remember that there is someone out there who knows more than you..Always post comments on as many artwork as you could..
I think it's up to the members to make Threedy a better place..

I hope the mods will try very hard...Keep it up guys..

Threedy is my homepage and it will be always...I visit the forum all the time..Now it has become a part of my life...

Thanx for reading all that..If any one disagrees with me don't start an argument here..Just PM me..Make the forum a better place..

[Drew Carey]

I think the forums just need some stirring-up, Something to attract new members and increase the flow of quality work. Speed challenges are a great attempt at this, but they are too many in my opinion, and they are quickly losing their initial attraction (just imo). Perhaps an "image of the month" or even "WIP of the month", something that will motivate more users to post their work. I guess I'm basically repeating Monte's award system.
Anyways, I definitely think that not all online forums have to start degrading at one point or another, it's just a matter of refreshing things every now and then.

Good luck guys!

[JHarford]

Staying and making threedy better is a good idea, but I think i'll wait a while till these changes come into place.
The reward/award thing monty talks about would be a great adddition. I think ghosts and i posted stuff about it in the 3dt ideas section of the forum.
I'll stop by now and again and post finished artwork if i make anythign good :p. I have all this zbrush crap pilling up here with no net lol. later
Thanks for the great post USED by the way. Appreicated, I hope people take this advice though and act accordingly.
Reporting posts that are worthless is definatly something everyone should do. And they should be deleted.

Thanks

[Julhelm]

I don't get it...

You people complain about arguing and flaming, but I've yet to see anything of the sort here.

For some well-needed perspective on things, why don't you have a look at this forum (http://dynamic6.gamespy.com/~dday/forum) which I myself was a part of for a very long time.

By all means, do not miss out on the off-topic section on those boards to see what constitutes a bad and hostile community, then look at yourselves.

Everyone cannot be friends all the time, but there's a huge difference between someone disagreeing or arguing with you, and someone blatantly flaming you.

My 2 cents on the matter.

[Jason-Lavoie]

Originally posted by cgstripe
Staying and making threedy better is a good idea, but I think i'll wait a while till these changes come into place.


If your going to do that, then why even become a member dude. Like most people here are saying, tyhe members make the forum, and we all have to stick together to change it.

But wait, I know an easier way, how about I leave for a bit until everything is fine and dandy, sorry but I find that to be a case of laziness.

[olympus]

Random acts of moderation are not going to go over well. There should exist a short list of rules in a sticky thread in the OT forum. This way whenever a thread gets closed the moderator closing it can state that the thread violated rule such and such, and for that reason will be closed.

All these suggestions are great (awards etc.) but how about some negative reinforcement, 3-7 day bans perhaps. Or maybe baning people exclusively from the OT forum?

I have not critiqued work near as much as I should, and I believe few people here have. I also have not posted very many of my personal projects, though they could be an inspiration to newbies, and those more experienced than I could help me out as well. For the benifit of the forum I hope that we will all begin doing so. That said who's up for Group Car Modeling Session 3!!! This is a great place for noobs to learn and us 3d veterans to help them out as much as possibe. PM me if you have any suggestions for the type of car, and I'll have it up in a couple days.

olympus

[Jason-Lavoie]

Adding on to olympus's contribution, i thought we should have say Car Modeling, CHaracter Modeling etc. Becuase i for one am not a big car modeling fan, and I amsure some people here arn't character modeling fans, so just focusing on one thiing is unfair.

[olympus]

Sounds good to me Jason. Anyone in mind more organizing the Character modeling? I don't have enough experience in organic to be of much use as an organizer, but I would probably learn something as a participent.

[Jason-Lavoie]

Oh i woudl really love to organize the character creation thread (if we have one) that will be really fun :)

[Julhelm]

I can help out with some low-poly tutorials, as I've already made one on creating a low-poly tommygun.

[J-L Gaumont-Lec]

Here's my two cents:

I know that I am one of the first to answer a lot of OT threads ( Even the useless ones...) I will correct myself for that.

For the award system, I love it! For the bans, if there is clearly stated rules, I approve. The little questionnaire for new members? I approve.

Closing the OT will not help! It will only spread the crap in other places where it does not belong. The OT should still be computer and 3D related.

For the newbies posting only minor updates ( including me...) They should be told that making a bigger update is better and crits will come with, maybe, greater pleasure from all members because there will be improvements and not only a simple vertex moved around... ( Slap on my hand... Ouch...)

For leaving Threedy, It will never happen to me since it is also my www home:)

To all Threedy Mods and Admins, keep it up and if you need help, pm me... I would love to help Threedy.

For all I have said, I will work on that to make this place a better place to post!

[UnsteadyTeddy]

What Monte said about the Awards i think is a great idea and should be implemented ino the site asap!

Anotehr thing, i see a lot of people giving ideas and wanting things to change, but nobody actually does anything about it. I think that the forum should have way more mods, doubled even, if the current mods cannot cope with the current amount of threads that get produced on these boards. I know im not the greatest by far at 3D, but my passion is there, and im willing to help Mod if its needed, if people want the forums to change !

Also i think the post count should be removed asap. This will stop the people who constantly spam just to up their postcount, and hopefully might contriubte to making people contribue more constructive criticisms.

Like many, i don't want to see this forum go down the pan. The ****s falling, lets not let it hit the fan !

[LittleFish]

Interesting comment about removing the post count. We can still be identified by our titles. Or we could just have "Senior Member" below our customizable title so others still know. But maybe other titles should be handed out by the mods, such as, for example, c0nspire getting a title "Low Poly Car Genius" or something like that. No favor to c0nspire, just using him for example. Maybe no title at all. Maybe only the basic Junior - Senior Member titles. Maybe only moderator-appointed titles. Hmmm.... some good ideas presented so far. Yeah, I like Monte's post about the Medals too. A mod controlled thing. People uncorrupted by power or influence, unswayed by the masses, yet still loyal to there constituencies.;)

Keep it up. I will enjoy benefiting from whatever positive changes you guys make.:D

[Jason-Lavoie]

I third that idea about removing the post count, i garuntee you that there will be a drop in spam.

I just think we should have no member titles, just member names, thats it. I am definatly for that idea 100%

[Lord Soc]

I'm not sure about removng member titles altogether. They can help give an impression of what sort of person is posting, makes members more like real people than words on the screen.

For me, anyway :)

I agree with getting rid of incentives to spam, though.

[3dGator]

I've been reading through, and think there are many great ideas coming up.

I definitely agree with the award system. It should boost help, crits, contributions in the 2D and 3D sections, etc.

I also agree that removing the postcount would kill off spam. Though Soc brings up a point: how would we put up member titles? I suggest we do this not based on a postcount, but on how long a member has been around AND how much he/she has contributed. Sort of like an award too, and once again, the mods would decide on this. It could also be taken away if the member breaks some rule; as a form of punishment. Closing down off topic won't resolve the spam problem.

Also, I've seen in other forums that anything remotely related to religion does bring about flames. So I think religious/political topics should not be allowed unless there's a very good reason to bring it up. Maybe something to put up in a sticky "rules" thread?

Anyway, I'm glad to see ppl wanting to work hard to get the comunity back again! :) I'm all for it!

[JHarford]

Removing post count and substituting it for an award scheme , where you get certain awards under your name, for outstanding posts or contributions.artwork etc. Is a good idea.

I was going to start group 3 but I left it , becuase I didn't think there was enough call for it.

As for you jason . I became a member in 99. And have stuck around since. Under different names noless :/, And as for your sudden enthusiasm to make the forum better, changing your opinions so quickly , I hope you stick to them this time, As I stated a while back , you can make great posts, and crits, but you too often don't.

Stick threads need to be read, but too often new memner just DO NOT read them, and it's kind of understandable from their point of view why.
I don't think any forum can ever be perfect and it will always have its downfalls and arguments, But threedy was better than most.

If these changes come into place then i would be glad to stay around, A warning system would be good, similar to what they have on AIm . These are plugins for the vbullitin , so it wouldn't be hard to install.
I think with the right usage , it wouldn't be abused and nonsense posters could get warned and be on there way to a ban .

Banning some trouble maker isn't a bad thing,. it's one person out of 10,000, And I think less leniancy is required, Hell , I should have been banned a while back for a few days ;).
Also, Some kind of incentive , like if you post consistently good posts for a year and also consistencly post fantastic artwork , that is voted and you are given awards for. Then you should be given something for that. Not material, but just status or mod duties or something.

I just woke up about 1 hour ago, and I dreamt the best feature film. It was long and had a great plot. but I was left at an incredible cliffhanger. :(

going back to my original point, I think post count is good in the fact it gives incentive to post, But not incentive to post well.

If you could report a great post to a mod just as you can do with a bad one , that would be good.

[Julhelm]

Have the OT forum split up into "general off-topic" and "political/religious discussion", or simply just deal with the fact that others have differing opinions and you might get spanked in a heated debate.

If you don't like the heat, stay out of said debate/discussion, because subduing those topics only make them pop up where you don't want them to.

[Chokin Hazard™]

First of all I like to congrats Chris and Used for cleaning up the off-topic discussion. The new subforum is a great idea. Now Im starting to stay away from that section because the threads/post there are useless anyways. Most of them dont even contribute to the site.
Now I just want to help out people. Like posting in a thread that has heaps of views but no replies.

Everyone should just stop complaing about threedy.

[Jason-Lavoie]

Hye Cgstripe sorry man, I knew you were with these guys for awhile, i idn't know that long, So i am sorry for disrespecting you, you certainly didn't deserve that.

Ha ha, me quickly chnaging my opinions, I guess so man, I have always considered this place as my modeling home, just sometimes it got hectic for me, but yeah I really want to make this forum start kicking again, and so far, its working.

As for your moving thing, please tells us the plot man, sounds exctiing.

:)

[olympus]

flip-flopper ;)

anyway, if you want to do the group modeling, cgstripe, I'll be happy to let you do it (P.M. me if you want to organize group 3, if you don't I'll start it by Friday). as for how much demand there is for it I don't know, but I think a good group would join

[LittleFish]

on the subject of banning: (don't know if anyone else said this yet)

I was thinking about 3DPalace and how they ban users on their IRC for 7 days for being stupid. :eek: anyway, how about different time limit bans for different offenses? (the following are only for example and do not have any thought put into them)

for example:
starting a religious/political thread - 2 weeks
spamming (like that one thread that stripe did, no offense:D) - 1 week
insulting another member - 2 weeks to a month
posting porn or some other thing banned in one the basic Threedy rules - 2 weeks to a month
saying "great" or "that's cool" while offering no helpful advice - no ban, just some PMs from the mods with instructions on "How to write a critique!"

and so on...

Don't think that bans like this would be harsh though. The user loses no access to the forums or the resources available here for that time while they are banned. They just can't post; controlling the one think that they need to learn self-control on. Sort of like behaviorism. (Thinking of B.F. Skinner shocking rats.:D)

edit: something else... maybe go so far as to add instruction manuals on what you need to post on your project to get good critiques. steps might include some like these examples:

1. What program did you use?
2. Explain what your model is and what project it's for, or just for fun.
3. Are you using a tutorial to make this model? If yes, which one, and where from?
...
8. Post a render of your model (within 100KB) and attach it to the post.
9. Post a wireframe of your model. (Ctrl+PrintScreen and Paste into PS)
...

get the idea? how is it, with this whole "instruction manual for the forums" of "Threedy for Dummies" thing?

[Beatrix_Kiddo]

On the topic of more moderation, I used to use a forum for LOTR (i know, i was a nerd), and I liked it at first, because the whole forum thing was new to me and I was excited. After a while though, there were so many moderators and rules that if I said anything, it usually offended someone, and I got reported and then warned until I was banned. It lost its appeal to me, it killed it. Then, I came here, and I saw how much more lenient it was, and yet, there are not that many flame wars! I dont know if u think so, but I am impressed by the orderliness of the forum (even OT).

[Jason-Lavoie]

Originally posted by olympus
flip-flopper ;)


I am not a flip-flopper, i just didn't know
:o

Anywhoooo, I think that banning idea is great man, but i do find it alittle harsh, I just think if someone has gone so out of line, there banned forever (that will teach them) and if someone doesn't obey the rules, how about a 24 hour ban, if they don't obey again, like 3 day ban, one more slip, and there banned forever.

Thats my take on things, what do the mods have to say about this?

[olympus]

I third the banning idea. Somehow it was overlooked, on the second page (in my first post in this thread) I recomended banning people for 3-7 days, or banning them exclusively from the OT forum.

[jawahar]

i would suggest adding software specific sub forum sections like,
maya/max, zbrush,cinema4d etc... and renderer specific forums for focused technical critic in that area.Joey(cgstripe) and other expreienced/partially experienced zbrush users can then organize group modeling sesions in those software spesific furums etc...
just something i had in mind,sorry if its a waste of space :( :o

[J-L Gaumont-Lec]

This thread,
http://forums.3dtotal.com/showthread.php?s=&threadid=23291
is a thread that we can learn from! I think it is one of the great ones i've seen in quite a while and it is giving me a lot of insights even before I start texturing ( my worst nightmares are made from texturing )...

People, please, have a look at it and tell me you opinions... There is great community participation and great advices and tricks!

[Daniel]

I've read a lot of the siggestions that were posted here and I believe postcount and temporary ban are very good ideas. I know that Chris is looking into taking away the postcount. Not sure if temporary ban will fly, but we'll se what happens. You guys just have to go easy for a little while though, he is working hard at improving the offtopic forum as are the other mods.

[Jason-Lavoie]

Hey mods just a question here, and am still finding some dumb posts here, such as this 1 gb e-mail thing.

The very last post was some guy saying he likes macdonalds.

Now i understand that you wabt to rid threedy from these kind of posts, but if you only get rid of 1 out of 4, thats doing nothing, and as I and Daniel experienced today, they tend to post a "Hate Post"

Currently I see stupid posts, but thats just my opinion, although I can't stand rules, the mods need to make some fast for the ff topic forum.

I think thats the first thing you guys and girls need to do.

[ross_coe]

a small suggestion....

there seems to be a few threads scattered about asking "what hardware should I buy???" and "what hardware do you use???" and so on....
any chance of a hardware review section to the forum? someplace people could ask hardware related questions, post their own reviews and opinions on the hardware they have or have used, etc etc.

might be a nice addition to the site....especially as hardware is something that concerns just about every member in the forum :)

[sanpilou]

a cool thing to have would be beginners challenges. There are already the speed modelling challenges but for beginners like me, we don't even stand a chance. So having something for beginners would be really appreciated.

:)

[Chris-3DT]

Hello and good evening!

First of all, let me thank you for the effort you are putting in provifing us with suggestions, We greatly apreciate your support!


Like DanielB, I have read through most of the suggestions. I would like to let you know some of our decisions concering some of the suggestions:


1. The post count will not be removed. We feel that members should be encouraged to contribute to the forums. An occasional spam post to reach the next higher level can be tolerated. :)

2. Hardware forum: General software help is now called General software and hardware help. Thanks for that one, a very good suggestion.

3. Bans: Bans should remain permanent. If a member goes so far that he deserves a ban, he should better stay for good. We don't ban at will, and allow a lot of freeway. We will look into banning from off topic only. That sounds like a good idea.

4. A guideline for posting in OT was posted. Please follow it. Sorry for the recent confusion.

5. We will have awards for you as soon as we can arrange :)

[Yanik]

I'd like to see a new skin such as cgtalk or 3dm-mc, i know threedy has it's own look, but come on it really looks outdated. Buy a vBulletin 3.0 license and make it look a bit more dynamic.

[Chris-3DT]

Anything else you want us to buy? You're saying that as if $180 are nothing. :roll:

[Yanik]

Originally posted by Chris-3DT
Anything else you want us to buy? You're saying that as if $180 are nothing. :roll:

I'm not saying $160 is nothing, i'm just suggesting it to you, because you improve the forum a lot in return.

Didn't meant to sound rude, i just gave my opinion.

[Jason-Lavoie]

Ha ha, where i come from, money gorws on trees, so 180 IS nothing to me (jk)

You can easily chnage the look just by making a new (forget what its called) sheet.

I like the look though, its nice and smooth, nothing pops out at you, everything is just nice and, nice.

[ross_coe]

out of interest....why isn't there a 3DTotal and Threedy icon???

I know it's not something totally important....but it might look a little bit nicer :)

and it's easy to put one up too....just add a 16x16 icon called "favicon.ico" into the site's main directory

this is my one http://www.ross3d.com/favicon.ico

anyways....just a suggestion :)

[Chris-3DT]

Actually, ross, i was thinking of that some weeks back (before I went on vacation even) and always emant to ask tom but never did - i kept forgetting! :eek:

[UnsteadyTeddy]

One thing that bugs me is that with the offsite animations, you got the ' previous ' button, and it would be great if you could add it to the top section (cant remember what its called, which doesnt have it) cos its annoying when you want something there ( like a tut ) and its not been updated to the tutorials section yet.

Just a thought :)

[JHarford]

Could we at threedy have a gallery system for viewing the wip and final 3d artwork forums. It saves time to the busier amongst us. And will add alot to the forum

[Jason-Lavoie]

Like CGtalk, i actually like that idea, like insyead of having that for W.I.P.s , what about just for finished work.

But then people may be thinking were copying cgtalk, oh well HA HA!

Good idea cg

[Vitor]

Maybe some more moderators would improve the forums and decrease the big amount of work they have now.
Also, I think it would be cool to keep the work threads' name as a standard like - Vehicle (or environment/character...) : "Project Name" and avoid names like: "my first model", "new project", "need help"... as in most of them you don't know what's the thread about.

My last suggestion is to create some monthly gameart competitions (or mini-challenges), as the realtime sub-forum is ignored my most of the users. It could have just a single small prize (a 3d total cd maybe? ) or even no prize. It would attract some more people and get the current users more active/motivated.

Currently I see stupid posts, but thats just my opinion, although I can't stand rules, the mods need to make some fast for the ff topic forum.

I agree with Jason about this. I know moderators have being working hard on this but there still are a lot of non-sense/stupid threads in the Off-Topic sub-forum.

[Salido]

Hello all and "Salutations!":D

I have no complaints, and I would just like to thank all the Mod's for their hard work. To all the Staff, I was ounce were you are now. Not going to tell you the site or even the carrier, but boy do I know the problems!

Hard enough to put up a good site, and to have a good handful support you, but for every hand full, Another handfull atracts problems,trouble and chaos.

I don't know if you want my 2 cents, but I want to at least know I tried! Just an Idea, The Speed modeling challenge,which I think is a great idea, could bolster some spin-offs into a new idea, such as this?
A modeling challenge of simple shapes or ideas,based on a time limit of course, like the rules set forth in the the 3D Speed Challenges, and picking the best three, and then taking those three winners and giving them a week to further their skills and creating a small wip, from their original winning object!
This would help all, criticing and those participating, and like I said,.......Just a dumb idea of mine.

PS, If you need a mod or help, I offer my help!:cool: :xyz:

[Avatar-3DT]

I was reading through this two threads and I hardly believed my eyes. Senior members, people I come to admire and respect them for their skils wanting to leave... Was like a nightmare.
Now I see a lot of opinions that the skin of the forum should change. I ask: Why? I realy thought that we all were beyond that, not so superficial to judge things on their apereance but for their content. I will stand my ground... Threedy has given me so much and I feel I have to give 7 times more in return. I don't think there will ever be reasons to leave this thread.
As for my 2 cents on restructuration of the forum I say this:
A Beginers Corner, 3d and 2d! Its not my personal ideea, good people on VA have already use it. A place where all the beginer will post their first post. If they are found worthy, they will be moved, thread and all in the usual forum. This will give a focus point for us, moderators and will act like a filter for quality.
Maybe its harsh, but hey, life its not always pink and none of us have seen only victories.

In the end I speak to you, all my dear friends and brother in arms that feel sad and are searching new horizonts elswhere: why not create this horizonts here! Become yourselfs the creators of what you wish of this forums, theach the newbies as others have theached you. Find the patience and the love to give what has been bestowed upon you and then, who knows, maybe you will find that everything you where searching for, was right here, under your eyes, all the time.

[ross_coe]

Would it be a possibility that in the "Final Completed 3D ArtWork" section there could be a thumbnail view of the image? I noticed that CGTalk has this...and it's quite handy being able to see a little preview of whats in store for our eager eyes.

Another thing I noticed on CGTalk is that the Final Artwork threads are in order of when they were originally submitted....as opposed to when someone last posted a reply to that thread. This seems like quite a fair way of doing things....gives everyone a chance to have their time at the front of the Final Artwork section before being shunted to the back by people reply to older threads.

Anyways, not that anyone needs to copy other forum layouts....but it's quite a nice way of doing things IMO.

Just a suggestion tho....Threedy is still the best :):D

EDIT: just noticed that cgstipe and jason pointed that thumbnail thing out, up above somewhere. My bad :p

[Hydro3D]

Originally posted by Chris-3DT
Anything else you want us to buy? I wouldnt mind 3ds max if your at the shops he he

But seriously here are my 2 cents for what there worth.

Speed challengers for n00bs, not a weekly competition (not talking bout the time for the comps but the frequency of them) n00bs while its good to enter competitions, also need to work on other stuff, plus if they really want it can still enter the big boys comps lol.

A warning system for users, its an addon very easy to add into vb.

If YOU want to an upgrade to latest vb, but only if YOU want to, itll make things run faster but YOU have to decide if u wanna spend they money. You may also wanna look into phpbb2 when the 2.2 series comes out.

I dont agree with sorting posts by thread date rather than post date. Like in the inorganic forum atm the my car is faster than your car thread, if it was sorted by thread date while that was at its ppl would have had to go back pages just to see new posts, i think this would be wrong.

Awards sstem sounds cool, glad thats coming into effect good job.

Also agree with the beginner 2d and 3d forum wip and final projects, if there good enough they can be moved up into big boys (maybe make the bigger forums where u have to be granted to where you can post new thread but any1 can reply). Also id suggest that there is a diff style of critique from mods and experienced members, that when going eg, lips look too protruded they need to be beveled, offer a way on how to do this, not a tut but something to help them achieve it.

Thats what i can think of right now ill post again if i remember nemore.

EDIT: I like the idea of giving ppl ranks aswell, like if a person isnt staff but a master of 3d it should be stated, so his comments have more weight than other ppl who only half ass know what there doing.

[ross_coe]

Originally posted by Hydro3D
I dont agree with sorting posts by thread date rather than post date. Like in the inorganic forum atm the my car is faster than your car thread, if it was sorted by thread date while that was at its ppl would have had to go back pages just to see new posts, i think this would be wrong.

I agree that in the WIP sections it's better to keep the threads is order of the date of last post....but in the Final Completed section keeping threads in order of when they were originally started might be good as a way of giving everyone equal exposure of their finished work :) It would mean that some people wouldn't get pushed back a few pages while everyone admires the latest kick-ass pieces of work (and if there was a "best of" section, those kick-ass pieces wouldn't lose any exposure to because of newer threads in the Final Completed section)
It's also a good way of quickly identifying the newest additions when you want to browse the Final Completed section.

[Hydro3D]

good idea i agree with that forums, but only for final project forums