Open Projects Forum Discussion

[Bruce Lee]

This really isn't the forum for this, but IMO our mistakes with the first few iterations of Critical Mass was precisely that we held up moderator criticism as some sort of "prize." That's not going to happen in the future. We're going to focus on simpler projects and not take any sort of "school" approach. Plus, it's going to be more member oriented as opposed to moderator oriented.

I've got to say that I'm very curious to see if your new incarnation of CM fairs any better than the previous versions. But to call the past versions of CM "mistakes" though, is rather unfair to the moderators and people who participated there. Some of us really gave it our all making CM work, and for a while, it did work. What can I say? I always did take CM personally. It might have indeed been "Phil's baby", but I did much of the diaper changing and feeding, as I recall, and I remember people having fun from week to week and learning something along the way. I don't know how you could ask for more than that.

Anyway, the old CM is in the past. The new CM is waiting up ahead. I hope it has the kind of success you're looking for.

Loston

[Bryan E.Warner]

Dear Fellow Creators
On these up and comming projects,are they strickly digitally done,or is a more traditional way happening,
just wondering,the artist I'm around do a lot of next day delivery/ Fed-X,
Blessings!
Bryan E.Warner

[Popninja]

I think I've said it before, and though I don't want to drag a current project down, I'll say it again - we probably want to avoid the overuse of "alternate universe" or "redesigned" characters. For example, this "Iron Men vs. the Zombie Jedi" thing was probably something we should have avoided. As Loston hinted, having to work out too many noodly details can suck the fun and momentum right out of a project.

I couldn't agree more. And, even though I did end up participating in a half-hearted attempt at keeping it afloat, I still think it should be shut down. I can't think of one reason why it should be left open. Put the kibosh on it and let's start with a clean slate.

[xadrian]

Bryan - it's generally not the way we do things, but there's no rule against it. If you want to pencil something then spend the money to get it photocopied and shipped to an inker, or colorist, that you're call.

Pop - Believe me, I want to SOOO bad, but every time a new piece of art comes in, I reset the clock. If the project goes a week without an update (meaning someone posting something complete, not a sketch) then I'll close it out so we can start something new.

PJ - many jams at once, huh? Yeah that would be great. Wanna start one?

[Deunen]

I couldn't agree more. And, even though I did end up participating in a half-hearted attempt at keeping it afloat, I still think it should be shut down. I can't think of one reason why it should be left open. Put the kibosh on it and let's start with a clean slate.

I agree. I would like to get started on new projects already. Can't wait for scripts.

[xadrian]

I agree. I would like to get started on new projects already. Can't wait for scripts.

Well, CW and Frost and you (and now Pop) are the main/only contributors. It's up to you guys. If you're all in agreement, let me know.

[penciljack]

I've got to say that I'm very curious to see if your new incarnation of CM fairs any better than the previous versions. But to call the past versions of CM "mistakes" though, is rather unfair to the moderators and people who participated there. Some of us really gave it our all making CM work, and for a while, it did work. What can I say? I always did take CM personally. It might have indeed been "Phil's baby", but I did much of the diaper changing and feeding, as I recall, and I remember people having fun from week to week and learning something along the way. I don't know how you could ask for more than that.

Anyway, the old CM is in the past. The new CM is waiting up ahead. I hope it has the kind of success you're looking for.

Loston

Loston, please re-read my comments. I did not call past versions of CM "mistakes," rather I referred to mistakes that were made with the past versions.

[penciljack]

PJ - many jams at once, huh? Yeah that would be great. Wanna start one?

Heh heh heh - I might do that.

[Bruce Lee]

Terry,

I reread your post several times before deciding to post. Perhaps it's just the way it was worded. I couldn't decide how you meant what you wrote. I'm glad you don't see our (the mods) past efforts as "mistakes", and are just interested in trying a new direction with CM. That's really good to know. For a minute there, I just wasn't sure. Life would be so much easier on these forums if we had the advantage of body language, etc to help carry across our communications. Sorry for misinterpretting.

Loston

[amadarwin]

The old CM: I never had time to participate, but that was one of my favorite boards for a long time. Phil and Loston did a great job with crits, not to mention some of the other participants were free to crit as well. I enjoyed watching some of the participants develop. The assignments did start getting repetitive towards the end, but I didn't mind. Just 'cuz you do a thing once doesn't mean you master it...I can't wait til the new one goes up so I can (time permitting) do some assignments and develop my skills.

ART JAMS: This is a tough one. It's one thing to get volunteers, but it's a whole other beast getting them to finish in a reasonable deadline. Here's what I propose:

step1: The prospective editor (overseer, whichever ) solicits interest from people to doing said jam.

step2: Editor must get some sort of 'approval' from PJ to do the jam and a overall deadline assigned for the jam to be completed by PJ (so the editor knows what kind of deadline to set with his volunteers)

step3: The jam is then open for volunteers

step4: The assignments will be doled out however the editor plans on doing it.

step5: editor gets writers to write said jam with a set deadline based on the overall deadline he is given by PJ.

step6: Editor then gets the artist volunteers to do their mojo with the written work with having the most important ref's on hand for the artist to work from. Again giving them a deadline based on their responsibilities and the overall deadline.

step7: Complete the project before the overall deadline or risk having the jam shut down.

Here's my proposed risk/reward system: Some sort of indicator when you click the persons name of how reliable they are. Like right now, if I click someones name I see "View Public Profile" "send a PM to" "Visit Homepage" etc...towards the bottom should be a "Completes writing assignments % of the time" or "Completes Drawing (or Inking, or coloring, etc..) assignments % of the time" with further clicking giving the actual stats, like completed 1 of 2 assignments and so on. That way editors know how much work to assign to that person. There's no negative or positive feedback, just stats. Stats only the editor has a right to assign (which would just be a tic of 'completed' or 'not completed'), and when the project is done, the editor has that control from the beginning of the project til a week after everything's done. After that, the control is revoked and given to the next editor. That way people not able to make their commitments should take a little more responsibility to check their schedule before committing themselves to a jam.

Obviously there are some flaws in this method and possibly a lot more headaches for PJ and the editors involved, but in order to get things going smoothly, some guidelines must be set and rigidly followed in order to make things work. Anarchy is great, but it doesn't get much done...