Best we have an open talk.
The problem with AoS is not AoS but this community's response to itThis forum was quiet when anything and everything related to AoS was swamped with activity. I'm glad I had two days off on Thursday and Friday, if only to keep up with all the news, responses and videos. It has been an amazing two weeks. I've had a constant stream of podcasts and videos for the past days, it's crazy.
But... not for Druchii.net. And ... I'm not surprised.. It seems every topic in AoS has to defend its right to exist at some point in the discussion. It seems every topic that reaches 5 posts or so can't be left alone without a single jab or negative remark. Like I should give a damn about one's personal peeve with GW or AoS to enjoy my hobby-time. If I would give a damn, I wouldn't be playing tabletop games.
Personally, I'm discouraged from talking about AoS here. There are people who claim AoS is failing. There are rumours that AoS is far exceeding WFB. Until we're given solid proof, either opinion is wishful thinking. But what I have observed, is that there is enough of a community out there and we're doing a good job at keeping them out.
If we look at the activity of the latest joiners, then it's been mostly about AoS. This would match our profile according to Google search indexes:
But if we don't have an AoS positive atmosphere, then this potential source of new members is wasted.
I don't think AoS and 9th Age (or any alternative) combine very well.. not because of the game, but because the community has proven itself incapable of not souring up the AoS forum. I know it's a harsh judgement. It's not meant at anybody in particular, but a feeling I've had for months now.
But 9th Age is an important part of us tooAside from the personal investment of some of our community, we're not entirely missing the 9th Age train. We get between 1000 and 2000 hits per day from 9th Agers using our calculators. These are not all people visiting us actively, since most hits come from the 9th Age forum using our tool support. But it still shows there's an active community, that likes the kind of discussions and support we can offer. It also means people know we are here, because they like to use the support we deliver.
There is more than one niche, within the 9th Age community that we can do: hobby, fluff and analytical stuff.
The 9th Age forum is partly a victim of its own success. And that's good, but it also opens a niche. We can offer a more relaxed, calm space to discuss topics that may require... say... a day or two to think about.
WFB needn't be limited to archivingDark Princess shows interest in keeping WFB going. I see some people on Ulthuan do it. Personally, I'm still invested and actively playing WFB.
There is a potential here, that seems to be pushed to the background in the face of exciting news and development. I think there's still a WFB community out there. We have the books, we have the models, we have all the material we need to keep going.
It took AoS for me to realize this, but I feel my own WFB community was getting too tournament focused even though we didn't play tournaments. It was as if this was the benchmark by which the quality of our game was measured. Since the "pressure" of tournaments has been removed, my local club has been exploring far more diversity and rekindled its passion for the game.
Considering the state of WFB, we may have more (legal?) liberty than ever, and this might make it even easier for us to support new formats, scenarios and playmodes for this game.
However, I don't think we have the numbers to survive with Druchii.net alone.
Technical supportIf the bill's too much to handle, then we have no choice but to move to cheaper hosting. Luckily, with our current need, that is quite feasable and the saving is worth it.
But we can go another route: we can host multiple sites to split the bill. If we were to host multiple elven sites, or heck.. even multiple sites in general, then it might prove a cost saving operation for all the sites.
Either way, I'm not dropping my support for the site for the foreseeable future.
What I think the community needsPutting Druchii.net aside for a moment, what I think would work best for the community would be 3 game specific sites and forums: AoS, 9th Age, WFB (all editions). The WFB site would act as both a project to keep the game going for those who want to, as well as archive for all the race specific forums who can no longer support the game on their own.
I reckon this might keep the trolling of AoS under control, while bringing the WFB players together and inject all support we can offer in the 9th Age project.
That said.. we'd also lose a lot of identity along the way. It's not something I'd "like" to do. It's what cold-hearted analysis points me to. This isn't the fun option.
What can we offer? What can -you- offer?There is no doubt that we need to discuss the position of Druchii.net, but I'd also like to turn the question around and ask.. What do -you- want to do and offer?
If we come up with a perfect new identity for Druchii.net, but nobody wants to build that project, then it's just a theory.
So I'd like to ask what it is you want to do. If you could draw the communities however you wish, and choose the projects however you wish, which would be the projects that you would love to pour all your passion in, whether it fails or succeeds?
For the record, what I'm not asking is whether you can organise a painting competition (unless that is your passion!) but what would make you rise an our early just like daylight saving time.
For WFB I'd like to do as much archiving as I can, and collect as many resources for it as we have available: books, game modes scattered throughout the White Dwarfs, campaigns, story outlines etc.
While the End Times have struck, there are enough gaps in the timeline to also permit a lot of story and campaign development throughout these gaps.
I can see myself organise some small online campaigns, and perhaps a few painting activities to keep it going.
For AoS, I would be willing to build a community site technically, but I'll only reach a participation level in terms of activity. I have only a limited "drive" for the community itself. I like to keep up with the news and the AoS community.
I would love to support 9th Age tangentially. I will be implementing new features and tools for it as I can. I have enough passion for the project and web development to do this.
But I've come to realize that the logistical barrier for this game is too steep. My local group doesn't play it. I've found a few players in Brussels, but I reckon I can only get half a dozen games in each year which is too little to get "invested".
Perhaps this might change in the future though.
Short term, long termShort term, I reckon bringing multiple websites to a single host is a great cost saving option. Mind, a single host does not imply single website.
Long term, I think we'd do well to merge a few sites and forums. Most notable, the elven websites seem like a good start.
Perhaps we can evaluate our next step after that?