Before I begin I'd like to say that I love the idea of an annual build competition Spartan 051! It'd give us all something to aim towards each year and help to inspire new members towards their first builds.
Okay, here’s my thoughts.
I don’t much like the idea of a rating system as it may give an inaccurate impression of people that post infrequently, or perhaps work out to be used as a way for disruptive individuals (also known as a$$#@!*s) to strike back at Mods or other members who try to warn them or set them on the right path. May not work out like that, that's just my thoughts.
I’m perfectly fine with all the current sigs and av’s and their bells and whistles. I think common sense and fellow community members keep them within tolerance levels. At least, I feel so.
I
strongly believe that the forums should be locked once again and only opened four or so times a year and for a period no longer than a week, so as to decrease the amount of spur-of-the-moment registrations we’ll receive. If someone really wants to join the 405th they’ll be willing to wait and in the meantime may even be spurred to begin their first project so they have a W.I.P. to post when they do get the opportunity to join. I believe that this will cut down on the amount of drivel that gets posted, and disruptive individuals that post it.
Something that I believe must go hand in hand with this is the tidying up of the stickies. They deserve their own section by now and can be an invaluable source of information to the budding builders who will be waiting for registration to open. But before they get their own section they must be tidied up. People have done tuts about their own methods of making armour/props which is then flooded by responses stating that it’s wrong because it’s done a different way to another member or some other such apparent offence, making it not only a pain in the arse to read through but down right confusing to boot. Either the stickies must be condensed and tidied with disclaimers stating that variations on the methods used are okay (and will not be the cause of the Anti-Christ’s birth and demise of all humanity) or, the 405th needs to put together a new set of tutorials based on the originals but neater, more concise, more official, and locked from comment.
And as a side note on the stickies and the belief that nOObs are either incapable or unwilling to read them- if an individual is not willing to take the time to read through at least some of the plethora of information that’s been gathered here on the making of Halo armour and props, then we shouldn’t want them to be here. We’re all here to help each other build costumes and props from a franchise that we love, not to spoon feed people who aren’t willing to learn for themselves by making some mistakes.
I’d also just like to re-mention that I can’t strongly enough recommend that we lock registration again as a regular thing. And not just until the release of Reach when the gates are left open and we get another flood. Regular thing. Except for three or four times a year.
That pretty much concludes my thoughts on the matter.
Regards- Juliet Joe.
P.S. One other thing, I’m with Peter Cooper- where are we exactly on the hookers and blackjack? :cool
P.P.S. I’ve always wanted to use plethora accurately in a forum post! Lol.
