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Due to censorship activity by gamingfiles admins at
http://www.gamingforums.com/index.php?
Nightsoft will boycott them at the end of the week. This issue stems from the deletion and warning of mebers posting links to temporary forums during BCU's downtime, and even people posting BCU links in their sigs. Additionaly, they're response was insulting. We apparently do not provide a service other than to leech members. This applies directly to BCU, but would happen if someone were to post a unity forums link in their sig. Infact, it affects every major community whose main roots fall outside of gamingfiles. Communities such as Armada, which is primarily based at AFC and SGN, as well as SFC (SFC3.net and ex-taldren (now dynaverse). Even if someone asks where all the modders are, as in this post,
http://www.gamingforums.com/showthread.php?t=156664
You get censored for it. I had a post in this thread deleted, and a warning sent to my PM box. I undeleted the post as soon as I learned of it. What's funny is the staff member who sent the warnign has a Bush sig. Apparently, promotion of a presidential canadate (the exsistancec of which probably p***es off most of the non-americans there) is more important than a sig which promotes gaming, which is the whole purpose of their forum. They lack common sense in enforcement of tyrannical regulations and definetly have a issue with their priorities. I envite everyone in the SFC and armada community, as well as any other who's roots started outside of gamingfiles, trek or otherwise, to fight this. Please send a clean, intilligent gripe to:
pr@filefront.com
if you support our cause. This boycott will affect any game with nighsoft products, such as the BC2 models which will be shared with SFC and Armada, and any mods which include them. This means they will not be allowed on SFC3files.com, for example. Please post a copy of your email below.
=====Remeber, keep the language clean. This is not a hate campaign against the gamingfiles forum, not are we trying to "destroy" them. This is a movement asking for fair treatment and change. =====
Below is my letter:
Well, we recently had a forum called BCU fail, due to major server malfunction. This is a major part of Bridge commander modding and the community in general. When people set up temporary forums and posted them in their sigs, or in posts, to help get the word out and keep various groups and projects together, they were censored by the gaming forums admins under a “no advertising” rule. Now, while I agree with such a rule, at some point common sense should play a role here. If it is game related, I don't see why it cannot be advertised. BCU is a part of our modding community. Now perhaps in some gaming communities, different sites/forums and seen as different entitles and thus competitors, and perhaps it is like that in some instances in BC as well, but for the most part, BC is one community which spans several sites. BCU, Bcfiles, and the gaming forums should be working together. By not doing so, they are making themselves a competitor by their censorship actions. I guarantee if BCU and file front forums become competitors, the result will not be good for gaming forums. Here is the reply when I went through files network channels on this:
==========================================================================
Clans and mods are allowed to advertise as they offer a type of service to the community. Those signatures were censored because they had a competitive site listed in it, which because of others trying to leech off of our large community, was banned. So, yet again I need to make an exception for this community? You’re not being exactly fair about it, making exceptions will mean I’ll have issues with others about this issue in the same respect you brought it to me asking why clans and mods can advertise.
If this is strictly BCU forums, then why not create a thread and post these temp forums that were setup instead of having them in the signatures? One of the mods can make it a sticky so it’s at the top of whatever forum you added it to.
Thanks,
Jeff 'n0e' Mills
FileFront Community Manager
FileFront – http://www.filefront.com
Email – jeff@filefront.com
========================================================================
So basically what this man is saying is that those who were posting links to these new child forums were not providing a service to the community, and advertising BCU apparently does not provide a service, or perhaps BCU itself does not provide a service, all of which are absurd and rather disrespectful. All of the Major mods that make bridge commander gamming what it is today came from BCU, not gaming forums, and ended up on Bcfiles. To return to the question posed above, as to why we didn’t group them all together in one thread, is, well, a 2 part answer. Firstly, we though that gaming related material in sigs was ok, and advertising such material within the forums for such a game was also acceptable, or at the very least the admins would have the common sense to leave it alone for the time being, so we never really felt the need as staff to step in. That brings me to thee second part of the answer, which is to say we figured it more effective to let the community spread the word itself, rather than a couple of moderators attempting to do so. Again, our faith in the administration has been apparently misplaced.
Not only does BCU’s direct accomplishments to BC, which I will list a few of below, account for a massive amount of why BC is the way it is today, it has brought different sections of the BC community, such as Bcfiles, so close together, they now operate as if they were a single, seamless organization. Additionally, the Bridge commander community encourages this cooperation that spans the boundaries of the communities themselves, as a lot of what BC is today is also the result of work in other communities. Communities such as Starfleet Command Taldren and Dynaverse forums for many of the ship models, conversion experts, skilled modelers, and even the famous Atolm, a 2D ship designer, to Startrek Armada and SGN for quality, low poly stock and fan made 3d models, Klingon Academy community, and even Homeworld, a non-trek based space game, who’s ships also grace the skies of Bridge Commander. Models and work even flow from BCU back to these contributors where game engine limitations do not prevent it. Think Gaming files can successfully compete with this, with the selfish attitude displayed above with the general idea that all we are good for is leeching members? Have they never watched Star Trek? Might I recommend the Star Trek motion picture “Undiscovered Country”, which teaches the Vulcan principal of IDIC; Infinite diversity, Infinite Combinations.
The List of accomplishments
*The Foundation: A mod, which permits the adding of custom sounds, maps, bridges, missions, ships and many more changes.-24,437 downloads before merger with BCMP
*BCMP-(BC mod packer) An automated program utility, scratch built, which essentially “-proofs” the functions of the foundation, negating the need for manual editing of the scripts and plugging files, based on interface of a star trek bridge console. It checks for missing files to prevent game crashes, and also Creates Bcmod files, a unique archive that contains all files for a mod. -63,786 downloads
*BCMI-(BC mod installer) Installs Bcmod files, which automatically places the needed files in the correct folders within the game to prevent installation mistakes, also made to look like a bridge console.-42,142 downloads
*Dreamyards (or it’s members individually)- (a major modding team) This team has brought many high quality ships to the game, both of custom design and of canon design. They continue to dazzle us to date, pushing the in game quality of ship models ever closer to that of the episodes they appeared in. They also span communities, giving their models over to the SFC community. They’ve also helped with new vessel bridges, and now are producing BC2 models. -43,548 downloads, just counting the bridges and the Excalibur class.
*Unimatrix One- (Modding team) The original BC mod team, the now defunct Unimatrix-One was once the most prolific single-ship producer in the community, out pacing all other production efforts combined at the peak of it’s reign. It’s leader, Darkdrone, still releases, is best known for Borg, and is also involved in the back-and-forth trade of ships between BC and SFC. –Downloads estimated in the several tens of thousands of downloads.
*Starforce Productions-My personal modding “group”. Usually it’s just me though. I’ve brought nearly 100 ships to BC directly, many of which come from other communities such as SFC, KA, Armada, and even the CGI communities. Additionally, I promote designs made by fans, or from other games and sources that can’t be directly converted, by convincing authors to make or remake them in stunning quality. The results are legends in the community, like the Armada Romulan Raptor class and Federation Premonition class, brought to BC, as well as SFC, in stunning detail. -Downloads estimated to be several tens of thousands.
*Rick Knox-A famous modeler in general, He replaced all of the stock federation models in BC with high quality replacements of the same vessel. Galaxy and it’s future upgrade, Sovereign, Akira, Nebula, and Ambassador, and Klingon B’rel. Also, his intrepid, Movie era Enterprise, and NX-01 Enterprise models are equally enjoyed.-100,575 Downloads tracking the newest release of the afore mentioned vessels, only. (How about them apples?!)
*Nanofx2-This mod revolutionized nearly all visual FX in game, such as sounds, weapon hit FX, engine leaks, flashing marker lights, more accurate sun glows, improved sound FX, improved explosions sequences, detonation shockwaves, and debris that fly about when a ship is destroyed, just to name a few. –20,010 Downloads
Sneaker’s MVAM-Allows the Galaxy class to separate in game, as in the show, and permits the Prometheus to split into its 3 attack sections at assault the enemy. –11,507 Downloads.
*Nightsofts BC2-An ambitions new mod that drastically changes the game, nearly everything legally editable will be changed. New ships, missions, and in game movies for starters. –8965 downloads, based on 7 ships for BC2 currently available to the public.
*Chris Jones and Dasher maps-high quality system maps, some based on real star systems, and a complete Earth solar system, with major moons, ringed planets, and nav-points to travel within.-12,416 downloads, based on 3 map mods.
Just incase you weren’t keeping score, that’s 327,368 downloads, counting only the most up to date releases only, not factoring in Unimatrix one and Starforce Productions. It is extremely likely the BCU forum as a single entity is responsible for a million plus downloads by thousands of people through out it’s history.
The way I understand things, Gaming files and files network are not here to compete, they are here to support the games and their communities, and to support a community you can’t be selfish and discourage reasonable promotion of other community sites in areas easily visible to community members, such as signature links or clickable graphics. Having Admins who choose to engage in negative, anti-community behavior, in a major players time of need flies in the face of common sense and good business practice. If they really are afraid that advertising other forums for a given game will deplete their membership, perhaps they should look to themselves and examine their operation for the answer as to why people would want to leave in the first place. There is absolutely no reason why game related forums couldn’t be post in a member sig, or in the forum for said game, rather than some out of the way advertising forum that will never reach the intended audiences. Keep that place for all ads that have nothing to do with the games the forums support, like personal home pages. Yes, that’s right, we’re not asking for special treatment for our community, we are asking for it on behalf of ALL of them.
I would like to close by saying I have written this email over the period of a couple of days, while keeping tabs on the CC’ed mailed from Pro-Filer of the exchange between him and Noe. I was alarmed to see that Noe even competes with his partners, by saying Pro’s contradictory opinion (which supports my cause) “aren’t helping matters, at all” (Direct quote), and that I apparently also have an “Arrogant attitude” (another direct quote). Apparently, that’s what standing up for one’s is called around here. So be it! Some of it, perhaps, is still animosity over an issue that took place about a year ago when our staff forum was deleted with all the others for non-use, with no warning to me what so ever, (Apparently the little column that shows how many threads and posts are in a given sub forum wasn’t big enough to see) throwing site operations into chaos right before the Christmas holiday and destroying important records like the ban/warning list thread. This resulted in a flame war between a couple of the admins and myself. Perhaps they think that this issue I am making now is some form of payback. I’ve since taken the staff forum to a private location, under my direct control and consider that issue a dead one. The point of this is not payback, but change. IDIC.
Sincerely,
Starforce2
Bcfiles Manager
BCU Intersite Relations Director
P.S.
I’ve just recently been warned by an admin for giving a link to another user on the forum.
http://www.gamingforums.com/showthread.php?t=156664
I’ve undeleted the admins deletion, however, it should be interesting to note the person who gave me a warning has a George Bush sig. Any forum that claims to be a gaming forum, which allows the promotion of a Political candidate in a sig over fallow entities within a gaming community, has a serious issue with it’s priorities.
=============================================
Just to prove my point (sorry Mihail..nothing personal to you or George Bush)
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