james8470

I think if that -1'ing people because you've never seen them should be allowed now because we shouldn't have random people that no one has ever even heard of in xG in my opinion. If other people have heard of them then the vouch would be void.

I've been following this for awhile now, and I think I'll share my opinions. :nailbiting:
 
I think switching over to this new system is a good idea.
Speaking from my own experience, if you can't distinguish yourself as easily as others (especially if you don't own a mic, or if it is broken like mine was until a few weeks ago), you didn't have a chance of being accepted as a member of xG no matter how much you played the servers, or how much you enjoyed your time on them.
 
This new system doesn't require users to distinguish themselves per se, which does show a con of the new system.
Others have correctly pointed out that getting into xG now doesn't feel like anything special anymore. Any applicant now has a high chance of being accepted, and we will end up with members who are like strangers to us. But is that really a bad thing in the long run?
 
I think this switch of how applications are accepted is a sign of xG's growth, and I'm pleased to see an increase in numbers even if it means sacrificing part of the blissful feeling of being part of a tight-knit community. In addition, Aegean wants to incorporate a system of 'member ranks' where you could progress on a junior-senior level somehow (by posts, time in-game?) which does help compensate for a rise in membership.
This way, members of higher tier represent "family" part of this growing community, and the lower tier members represent the "friends" part of xG.
 
I guess the question comes down to what counts most in being a member of xG, playtime/appreciation or being distinguished/knowing people. Both are valuable, but which counts the most?
 
So, after two months of my first application I am inspired to reapply soon. Plus, I have some friends who I can ask to vouch for me for good measure, and I can have some confidence that I'll actually be accepted! :eek:
In the end, I believe this new system will work out for the better. Even if it doesn't, there are checks in it so that no "bag-eggs" can join as members, and also checks in it should it completely fail.

I've been following this for awhile now, and I think I'll share my opinions. :nailbiting:
 
I think switching over to this new system is a good idea.
Speaking from my own experience, if you can't distinguish yourself as easily as others (especially if you don't own a mic, or if it is broken like mine was until a few weeks ago), you didn't have a chance of being accepted as a member of xG no matter how much you played the servers, or how much you enjoyed your time on them.
 
This new system doesn't require users to distinguish themselves per se, which does show a con of the new system.
Others have correctly pointed out that getting into xG now doesn't feel like anything special anymore. Any applicant now has a high chance of being accepted, and we will end up with members who are like strangers to us. But is that really a bad thing in the long run?
 
I think this switch of how applications are accepted is a sign of xG's growth, and I'm pleased to see an increase in numbers even if it means sacrificing part of the blissful feeling of being part of a tight-knit community. In addition, Aegean wants to incorporate a system of 'member ranks' where you could progress on a junior-senior level somehow (by posts, time in-game?) which does help compensate for a rise in membership.
This way, members of higher tier represent "family" part of this growing community, and the lower tier members represent the "friends" part of xG.
 
I guess the question comes down to what counts most in being a member of xG, playtime/appreciation or being distinguished/knowing people. Both are valuable, but which counts the most?
 
So, after two months of my first application I am inspired to reapply soon. Plus, I have some friends who I can ask to vouch for me for good measure, and I can have some confidence that I'll actually be accepted! :eek:
In the end, I believe this new system will work out for the better. Even if it doesn't, there are checks in it so that no "bag-eggs" can join as members, and also checks in it should it completely fail.

most advertisements are based on your search history whether you have deleted it or not! what have you been doing you little 8 year old rascal?

Why not dump all my drawings here? I can never get hair or eyes right and also weeb.

I just want to clarify a few things that people seem to misunderstand from my previous posts.

Member tags will not change from [xG] or xG | or however you put xG in your name, the junior - senior example is something that will be automated via forums, and it will just give people a sense of accomplishment upon several hurdles that we set (i.e. amount of posts + time registered on forums). We will discuss this in detail once it's fleshed out.
Getting membership was much harder and more of an accomplishment in the past, that is of course true. We made it like this because as I reiterate, the higherups do not like the idea of someone joining our servers, wanting to be a member, not being vocal enough or standing out by being funny or really good, and then not getting accepted into the community. We obviously can not force people to vouch for others, nor can we assume they will remember every member who goes on the servers. Letting members in and following alongside our competitors in this aspect is a net gain because we gain a population growth while the newer players feel like they have a place they can call home in xG.
Member protests exist! We can always get rid of members who do not deserve to be a member, this should not be an issue.
IF all hell breaks loose, and we truly did make a mistake, we can always change the rules around submissions. Nothing is set in stone.

Totally understand where you're coming from, but just look at the member application section of the forums. Look how many members have applied but have not even gotten a vouch. They probably won't come back to the forums, and just because you're shy and don't talk a lot does not mean you are not a quality member. Unfortunately, the vouching system just to gain membership only allows outgoing players who are good at making friends join the clan very quickly, and pretty much keeps away anyone who might not use the mic or talk a lot in servers. I want xG to be a place where people who are accepted and become a member can gain new friends, and come out of their "shell" so to speak, where they start making friends and enjoy a warm community. As a few others have stated, we do have member protest section and we can always use it (:

You fools. You stupid, crazy fools.
Do you realize what you have done? You have effectively opened the floodgates to them all; this will be the end of vouching as we know it.
The structure and integrity of vouches have been buried alive, and I can hear the collective whispers of the damned as the time draws near.
They are coming. You have doomed us all.
The uprising of the "+1 cool guy" is at hand.
 
All jokes aside, I'm pretty skeptical about the new system. I never really saw a problem with the old system where upon reaching 10 positive vouches, the applicant was accepted (where any negative vouches would reduce the total positive) after 24 hours of receiving the final 10th vouch. I completely understand the idea behind this movement, but exclusivity at the cost of getting 10 vouches didn't [and still doesn't] seem like some impossible feat. It gave Players something to work for (as opposed to a generalized ratio of positive to negative vouches which is in effect now) and they could see in real-time where they were at in the review process in terms of monitoring their positive vouches.
 
I personally feel that quality is far better than quantity, and that's what we got when letting Players in to represent Xeno Gamers as a full-time Member through the old system. It ensured that we let quality Players in, not just any Player off of the street, and it gave Xeno Gamers this sort of respectable air around it. Joining Xeno Gamers felt like an honour (to me at the time) and so it felt great to receive all of the vouches I did because I worked hard for them and was rewarded for my efforts by receiving a full-membership. The number of vouches not only gave the community an idea of who the Player was, but it also enabled the Higher-Ups to formulate an opinion themselves because, more often than not, it would take weeks to get in at a time. It gave a decent buffer time for Higher-Ups and enabled them to weed out any Players they deemed 'not worthy'. 2 days just seems too few to really judge a Player.
 
That all being said, if the end-goal is quantity > quality, then it's certainly more effective in that aspect. However, this is all just personal opinion, it's just good to see an active interest from the Higher-Ups in improving Xeno Gamers in any way :coffee:

I'd rather see 4 days rather than 2 days. That gives more time for people to give their input on the applicant.
But either way, glad to see that those who got -1'd to hell (for some meme reason) are going to have a better chance to get in.

Quick question, if you use these titles shouldnt you be able to take off tags or do you want us to keep them? It would be nice to take them off ;c

from what i have heard kypari's internet is fucked so they cannot make dates at this moment

ITS AN AUSTRALIAN CHRISTMAS BLOODY MIRACLE! :hungry:

Ohh! Sexcellent.
I was just talking with someone about this.

Aegean, I'm sorry, I didn't have time like I thought I would to converse with you like I said I would.
I'm really not a great computer designer, and it's not something I would like to be paid for anyways, I just wanted this to be a fun community project to improve xG.
 

 
Patriot, it would be great if you took a stab at this.
I'd be willing to help as well if I could, I have time, just not experience. :unsure: :S
 
So, like I said at the beginning of the thread,
this is just an idea, an idea that's open to everyone!
best of luck if anyone is interested in continuing this!

Aegean, I'm sorry, I didn't have time like I thought I would to converse with you like I said I would.
I'm really not a great computer designer, and it's not something I would like to be paid for anyways, I just wanted this to be a fun community project to improve xG.
 

 
Patriot, it would be great if you took a stab at this.
I'd be willing to help as well if I could, I have time, just not experience. :unsure: :S
 
So, like I said at the beginning of the thread,
this is just an idea, an idea that's open to everyone!
best of luck if anyone is interested in continuing this!

Ayyy

Yea you replied to it here Hub Shop Icons?
Sorry I forgot to PM you about that, I'll do this soon and maybe you can help me make these? :0
I'm off for the rest of this week b/c spring break so I can do some hardy work most days.
 

 
Lol hi :waving:
I played w/ you yesterday and we were joking about your ninja-turtule kissing spray
( ͡• ͜ʖ ͡• )

Hey xG!
 
I'm james8470,
but you can just call me James (y)
 
I'm just some dude who really likes xG TF2 servers and have played them for the last three months mostly as Sniper with Lucksman :sneaky: >:).
I've actually been on the forums for a few weeks now, but forgot to introduce myself (better late then never lol).
My other main interests revolve around the natural world and conservation of it.
I've already applied to be a member of xG, and am currently working on a design project for xG too.
Meh, that's about all that's going on.
 
Hit me up if you wana play or trade anytime. :cigar:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Dv7AXRqjTuQ
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-dkK9r57BNk
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TNZ7gllxeZs
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hw3Z3lHyQiE

Hello xG!
 
I noticed earlier that the Hub doesn't have any shop icons.
I might be able to design some icons for each item, but first I'd like to ask permission to do so.
 
I think visual images representing the item someone wishes to buy makes them feel 200% better about purchasing it, it feels more like a real peak you're getting.
 
I've actually done something similar a few years back when I made my Minecraft server.
[spoiler=Link]http://time4events.enjin.com/shop
 
So, those kind of icons are what I'm talking about.
 
However, I might not even be the best person for the job.
I don't have much experience in digital design, and while I'm sure I could make something, maybe there are others out there who would be interested in this project?
 
Therefore, I'm just tossing the idea out there for now.
Maybe someone's even already working on it?

Here's a quick draft I whipped up to show what I envision in my mind:
 
Some things to note:
- This would be resized to 192x192 to match the current "?" icons
- This would be polished and look a lot cleaner in the final version
- I guess this would be for the "Bump Post" item, the one costing 100 credits :confused:
[spoiler=Image]
 

I wouldn't mind taking a whack at it with the program I use to make the trailers and such. I have the fonts needed and already have a icon pack downloaded.
 
Will look into it tommorow as well :)

He's talking about these pretty sure.
http://i.imgur.com/MDpke9s.png
 
Go for it dude, i agree that it looks kind bad right now.

if you could do this james I think it would help. the no icon question mark really doesnt help the look of xG