BzFlag on Myspace

External websites, for and about BZFlag
kentucky girl
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Post by kentucky girl »

I'd say that if it is made it will have to look amazing to actually get ppl to come to play...just my thoughts.

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Lan
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Post by Lan »

Yes, because we need advertisements for this previously close-knit, stress relieving and fun game, as we are short on players that are here to abuse the game, take it and leave it with no respect, create even more unused cliche servers, and further destroy what used to be a simple and organized community of players that had clear distinctions between who was loyal to the game and who was here to come and go or abuse it.

Besides my sarcastic explanation of the "benefits" of having an UNOFFICIAL myspace for bzflag, creating a myspace personifies the game. Myspace is a place for socializing between humans. This includes picking "top friends," which as that myspace page linked above shows, has no real qualifications other than preference of the unofficial creator of the page, which has nothing at all to do with bzflag the game. A myspace page corresponds to ONE human being by default, except in unusual cases (excluding myspace music). Apart from its original creator, Chris Schoneman, there is no single "person" entirely behind BZFlag; it is a worldwide sum of the players, developers, donators, and people and organizations who choose to distribute the software or support it in other forms.

To get onto even further serious matters (and less sarcastic, in comparison to my first paragraph), the page above is not official by any means, unless Tim Riker or a similiar authority created it, which is not the case here. This can lead to having the official game be at the mercy of what the page contains, i.e., the content of that myspace can be confused with the actual representation of the game. If that page has racist comments on the page, the bzflag community gets the blame because of a malicious creator of the page. Quite possibly, because the myspace page above CLEARLY and OBVIOUSLY lacks a disclaimer it is NOT official, and instead displays and contains content that can be confused to be an official work of the BZFlag project, a serious copyright violation is not entirely ruled out. Because the BZFlag project has been distributed to many different software outlets, such as several software bundles on CDs, it is important to keep BZFlag up to that reputation, which was gained by official means. The myspace page above or any others are NOT official, and therefore BZFlag's reputation will suffer at the mercy of the content of these myspace pages, as mentioned above. This can cause severe consequences, leading to defamation and therefore serious trouble, perhaps legally.

Hopefully this message reads clearly as not an opinion but a statement of facts why a myspace page is wrong for bzflag, unless it is truly officially made, such as by Tim Riker or other official authorities of the project.

Consider why the United States Air Force CHOSE not to get involved with myspace as an advertising tool. See http://www.af.mil/news/story.asp?storyID=123023941 and ESPECIALLY http://www.af.mil/news/story_print.asp? ... =123027491
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Post by Pogovina »

A Vicious Muffin wrote:Myspace isn't a place that's all* bad. Many people on myspace just want to have a website/blog they can post stuff for their friends to see. Although some are very bad, most, in my opinion, aren't that bad at all.
This is true for more people than you think. I happen to love Myspace because it has helped me regain touch with friends from High School- through a community much like the BZFlag one in question. I've only once dealt with "a horny guy trying to hook up" and never any "internet psychos" that disrespect my little place on the site. There is a lot of controversy about Myspace due to youth abusing it, but there were other sites before Myspace and when Myspace is no longer exciting, there will be another site that will get everyones knickers in a twist.

I believe that too many people take the internet- including Myspace- too seriously. Anyone with a good head on their shoulders will be able to see past rambunctious troublemakers without laying the blame on the "genuine" BZ community.

just a woman with 2 cents to pitch in.
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Post by bzflaginator »

Well stated pogovina. Why must you worry so much about what other people do? Its a game meant to be played by all who choose to take the opportunity. And for what reasons do they think that it is "inappropriate" Lan? It is only inappropriate if you make it that way. They are absolutely no reasons why that cant happen. Also, the United States government is not down with what these "geeks" or "nerds" are doing as well as teenagers. They do not understand the internet in its means and see the internet as a loop hole to tragedy. Of course all parents disapprove of what their teenage sons and daughters do, so why not the government do so as well?

Point stated.
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Post by Lan »

bzflaginator, by "they" do you mean the Air Force? If so, read the links for the answer; it can apply to this case as well.

Additionally, apart from the question of what the demographics would be of the new players gained from the myspace page, what about bzflag's reputation? As I stated originally, the myspace page is done by a third-party with absolutely no official authority to moderate its content. BZFlag's reputation is clearly at stake as the content of that myspace page is being passed on as an official representation of bzflag, yet it is not. It is almost like identity theft; much like a myspace page was made for someone else without their consent. That other person is doomed to suffer from the content of "their" page, which is made out of their control.

Furthermore, as stated before, there is no need for advertising the game. We are not short on players by any standard; you can join an ongoing game at any time of day on any day and have fun, no shortages on players there. Showing a little link or graphic of bzflag on your own personal area and taking responsibility for that link is showing you are a fan; creating an entire ad campaign (the myspace page) and taking absolutely no responsibility for its content (see above) is wrong in my opinion. It ruins the simplicity of the game and its community, and takes the game WAY out of scope.
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Post by Lan »

I was not referring to the owners of MySpace in any way, shape, or form, but instead I was talking about the owner of the myspace page already created (http://myspace.com/bzflag) or the owners of any future or other myspaces representing bzflag.
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Post by Ozor Mox »

Yes, because we need advertisements for this previously close-knit, stress relieving and fun game, as we are short on players that are here to abuse the game, take it and leave it with no respect, create even more unused cliche servers, and further destroy what used to be a simple and organized community of players that had clear distinctions between who was loyal to the game and who was here to come and go or abuse it.
Lan, how much are you against attracting players who don't "respect" the game and how much are you against attracting all new players. BZFlag is a free and open game that anyone can download and play, yet you appear to want to discourage new players in case the "close-knit" community is expanded too much. A game like this needs players, lots of them. Whether they play for a few weeks and quit or stay with the game for years shouldn't really matter.

Maybe I read this wrong (it is sarcastic after all), but an elitist attitude of some experience players will only shut out new players when this game should surely be attracting them.

P.S. I'm not saying if advertising anywhere in particular is the right way to go or not with this post.
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Post by Lan »

I didn't mean it as an elitist attitude, but rather than too much exposure can lead to people coming and dropping it quickly, essentially showing no respect to the game. It is a very simple game when you compare it to other games, therefore BZFlag is prone to people who just want to be trolls and criticize the game for being too "boring." Perhaps this is all part of any game--people who come and go-- but the game just seemed more fun when it was primarily filled with people who didn't drop it so quickly; people who gave the game some time, and not consider it too simple and move on to Halo or something after a few sessions.

However, that is just my opinion, and holds no real value towards deciding how good or bad a myspace for bzflag can be. We could debate on how important or unimportant a dedicated fan base is, or what type of demographics are good for the game, or if it doesn't matter at all about demographics, and we won't get anywhere because it is all opinion. Please, however, take into consideration of my other point about the risk of unofficial authors of a bzflag myspace, the abuse it can lead to, and "identity theft" basically of the game and its good name, because I feel that is almost entirely a factual and genuine real-life issue and problem that needs to be taken into consideration before starting a bzflag myspace.
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Post by bzflaginator »

Lan wrote:I was not referring to the owners of MySpace in any way, shape, or form, but instead I was talking about the owner of the myspace page already created (http://myspace.com/bzflag) or the owners of any future or other myspaces representing bzflag.
Ahh I see. Well then I agree with you. I think we should take this thread down a bit with the tone because I was just looking for a simple opinion :P.
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Post by The Red Baron »

any time you ask for an opinion on a public forum.... this is what you'll get :)
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Post by Ozor Mox »

Lan, I understand your point of view now, thanks for clearing that up. I was thinking that maybe long-time supporters of the game were becoming hostile to new players "destroying the community" because they aren't entirely devoted to the game, which would include people like me who've been playing the game on and off for about six months! :)
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Post by biggeruniverse »

bzflaginator wrote:Well stated pogovina. Why must you worry so much about what other people do?
Because it can affect you. The internet isn't a fad where children go to carouse. It is a serious business, where money is made and lost, and sites have legal weight.

I don't agree with a lot of what Lan is saying (hell, I don't respect bzflag), but he has a point about a disclaimer.
bzflaginator wrote: They are absolutely no reasons why that cant happen. Also, the United States government is not down with what these "geeks" or "nerds" are doing as well as teenagers. They do not understand the internet in its means and see the internet as a loop hole to tragedy.
Do you know any history at all?
bzflaginator wrote:Of course all parents disapprove of what their teenage sons and daughters do, so why not the government do so as well?

Point stated.
What? The government better not disapprove of what people are doing- it's by the people, for the people.

If you want to have a "zomg i luv bzflag cuz its kewl lolz" site, go ahead. This is for fansites , after all.
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Post by bzflaginator »

biggeruniverse wrote:Because it can affect you. The internet isn't a fad where children go to carouse. It is a serious business, where money is made and lost, and sites have legal weight.
How is it any different if somehow the game got leaked out to a large sum of people. Did you see the video of the Phago clan (if you even know who they are) where they went to the gaming expo and handed out stickers and flyers of the game? That is no different, here it is just in a different way. Those people at that expo dont differ much from the gamers we have today. Secondly, this game is open source and free to all. This consists of no profit what so ever so unless you know what you are talking about, dont put your 2 cents in.
biggeruniverse wrote:What? The government better not disapprove of what people are doing- it's by the people, for the people.
Have you not seen what the government has been doing. We are slowly pulling away from that theory and traversing more into what our president thinks. Most of us are wrongly represented even though we did elect them for their connecting ideas to what we want...it never works out that way.
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Post by JeffM »

I don't think you all are talking about the bzflag myspace page. This is not a place for the discussion of governments and the internet.

I think this topic has gone on long enough.
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Post by bzflaginator »

If you could Jeff, please terminate it.
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