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Outline's Grand Finale [Delayed]
Topic Started: Monday, 9. September 2013, 14:51 (15,664 Views)
TStorm2
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Well, this makes me sad to know that despite being one of the first few members to grace this board back in 2008, Ive barely contributed to anything and this is reflecting with a extremely poor post count. Althouh, having said that, I appluad the administration and staff and many others for keeping this board running for the last 5 years. When I came back, this was the first board I checked because I remembered it so well and it was such a relief that at least one part of the 'snowglobe' was still alive.

I do, however, believe that this is probably the best decision. Granted, it's not an easy pill to swallow but at least I can all look back at this current version of Outline months into the future and truely say that this, in my opinion, is/was one of the greatest forums to ever grace IF and ZB. People may not agree, but hey, each to their own.

Well done to everyone who made Outline what it is and was and sad to see a great board come to an end.
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Delirium
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A bit selfish here, no?

You claim you want to leave Outline in a good state yet your plan is to have a fun-filled week then leave it to rot. If you've outgrown the board, move out of the way and let someone else tend to it.
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The Flame
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We've all agreed that there's no one fit to take over Outline in it's current state. This wasn't something that had been planned for months, and it's better to have the board have a big event celebrating it's history then for it to rot without an administrator like some boards have done in the past.
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Bluezone777
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It's current state is a general chat board for the most part so it's essentially become a general chat board long before this announcement. It wasn't done by anyone as it was simply evolving itself into that on its own. Sure there is some of the design element left but it's not enough to keep it as a design forum. If you are keeping the general sections alive then why not have an admin suited to that end around here? I still don't see the sense of it being let to rot simply because someone in charge has outgrown the community they have been in charge of for so many years. Seems more like Cody just can't let go of this place as he moves on and everyone suffers for it. Doesn't seem very fair to me.
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jackie
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Like many said before, there isn't an administrator that would fit the role. Stacha, Doug and Cody talked and agreed to it. It's not like the forum is being shut down completely - you can still post and make this community thrive without an administrator.

It makes me sad that there are people criticizing Cody's decision so harshly when he obviously thought of every situation possible. He's been with this forum for five solid years. He did not make this decision solely based on what he thought was best for himself. He was thinking about the board as well and came to this conclusion. Of course no one is happy about it because Outline has been such a huge part of everyone's life but would you rather see Outline become like all of those other boards that just went completely downhill after the main administrator(s) left and kept passing the forum on and on?

I wasn't originally going to post but people are being a bit too harsh in saying that Cody's being selfish. Outline's been a huge part of my life too, but I understand why he's doing what he's doing. I don't really involve myself around here all that much anymore but I've met some of the best people on this forum (wouldn't have met Aidan and Cody in person if I never joined). Had some of the most amazing memories from meeting the people I did here but I don't want to see this forum go downhill from it being passed from person to person and for it to turn out like some of the big name boards that "rotted away" from admin neglect.

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[9:15:40 PM] Michael: penis is salty
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Bluezone777
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Being honest means sometime saying what people don't want to hear. If you aren't saying something that someone doesn't want to hear from time to time then it's more then likely you are being dishonest. I don't recall hearing one single comment about this before it gets dropped on us. It's not his board or any one person's board as it's our board but probably the most important decision made on a board and everyone or most everyone is getting cut out of the discussion. That's not fair to everyone here who wasn't let in on this talk. If you are going to make a decision that effects everyone then everyone should have had a say BEFORE the decision was made and not after. Chances are people will slowly drift apart and it will still have its unceremonious end anyway just without a leader at the helm when it happens and with its possibly last chance ripped away before it could even take it. It's happened on many other boards and the only difference is you didn't get this topic posted first.

EDIT: I suppose if nothing changes then I guess this will be an opportunity for someone to start a new board. You got a community full of people to start you off and start a new beginning from that. I wonder if anyone left here has it in them to start a board perhaps a general chat board? I guess this does open up an opportunity if anyone around here wants to take it. Just something I figure I add to this post.
Edited by Bluezone777, Tuesday, 10. September 2013, 20:45.
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Tom
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Bluezone777
Tuesday, 10. September 2013, 20:34
Being honest means sometime saying what people don't want to hear. If you aren't saying something that someone doesn't want to hear from time to time then it's more then likely you are being dishonest. I don't recall hearing one single comment about this before it gets dropped on us. It's not his board or any one person's board as it's our board but probably the most important decision made on a board and everyone or most everyone is getting cut out of the discussion. That's not fair to everyone here who wasn't let in on this talk. If you are going to make a decision that effects everyone then everyone should have had a say BEFORE the decision was made and not after. Chances are people will slowly drift apart and it will still have its unceremonious end anyway just without a leader at the helm when it happens and with its possibly last chance ripped away before it could even take it. It's happened on many other boards and the only difference is you didn't get this topic posted first.
I agree entirely. Seriously. This about sums everything up.

Jackie
 
Like many said before, there isn't an administrator that would fit the role. Stacha, Doug and Cody talked and agreed to it. It's not like the forum is being shut down completely - you can still post and make this community thrive without an administrator.

I'm going to be honest with you, but you're kind of missing the point. Yeah, it's fine and all that Stacha / Doug can't step up as Administrators and take over. No one is arguing against that. But that doesn't mean anything has to be done with the forum at all. Just shut down the services that were previously being offered but just leave the forum as it is. This shouldn't be the "Grand Finale" at all.

I keep reading most of you talk about how the forum is going to be neglected and just fade away without an Administration - but that's precisely the most fitting and appropriate ending to Outline. Unlike other forums, Outline should die when it's community decides it's dead. Not because no one can manage it anymore.

I'll be completely honest. The reason i'm typing all of this out is because just like you all, I don't want Outline to die. I don't regret anything i've done in foruming, i've learned and made tons of friends just like all of you have. If you want to leave, then leave. If you want to stay, then stay. But you should decide when foruming ends for you. No one else should. Period.

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Chance
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Chris.
Tuesday, 10. September 2013, 19:09
I would personally love to do another community theme.
That would be quite hard to organize with only a week and a half of organized power to go, lol.
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Jimmy
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Tom
Tuesday, 10. September 2013, 20:50

I keep reading most of you talk about how the forum is going to be neglected and just fade away without an Administration - but that's precisely the most fitting and appropriate ending to Outline. Unlike other forums, Outline should die when it's community decides it's dead. Not because no one can manage it anymore.

I'll chime in and say this is basically my thoughts.

I'm not active here now day's, School and life's keeping me busy, But I still lurk, and outline is on my daily visit list. I enjoy seeing the theme's released, I enjoy reading the interesting topics that pop up. Shame to see the board go like this.
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Moonface
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Chance
Tuesday, 10. September 2013, 21:00
Chris.
Tuesday, 10. September 2013, 19:09
I would personally love to do another community theme.
That would be quite hard to organize with only a week and a half of organized power to go, lol.
What stops the staff left here to organise one?
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Stacha
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Bluezone777
Tuesday, 10. September 2013, 09:54
Seems to me this is more about the current admin having his life be taken in a direction where Outline doesn't follow then anything. I don't see why the current managers can't both be promoted to administrator to carry on admin duties provided they want to take on the job as I think both are truly capable of stepping up to the plate provided they want to take that step. I think it would be good to see Outline get new leadership to take it in a new direction and continue evolving itself as I think things have grown too stagnant here due to the leadership staying essentially the same for so long. Perhaps this could be seen as an opportunity to change and evolve Outline instead of just closing it and letting be forgotten?

When Sith quit, this board didn't just up and close then so why should it do that now simply because its current "founder" has decided to essentially retire? I truly think you are making a mistake in letting this be the end simply because it's the end of the road for you, Cody.

//My two cents
I'm sure this has already been answered but my battery is too low to read through all of the posts. I'd also like to give you my view of things on a personal level.

This wasn't an easy decision to come to, and other options were explored. At one point, I was ready to accept the responsibility of Administrator and continue running the forum with Cody helping as I got on my feet. I don't want to see Outline fade away and I was willing to step up to see that it didn't end. The issue is though that I'm much in the same boat Cody is. I'm graduating from college in the few months and am currently exploring my options teaching English as a foreign language, and there's no guarantee I'd go somewhere with regular Internet access. I'm getting married in a few months and have plans to start a family in the next few years. I can't justify making Outline the high priority it would need, and deserves, to be when real life is demanding so much of me.

But it's more than that. I'd be lying if I said that I could continue taking Outline in any real direction. I've run a few forums in my time, but they were nothing. Forgettable. Nothing was accomplished there. Cody runs Outline at a level that has astounded me ever since I first joined back in 2011. The amount of organization he operates at, the innovative projects, the systems, it's truly professional and sadly nothing I feel qualified to even so much as attempt. There is so much I don't understand. Even with me running Outline, it would still basically be in a non-updated state because the truth of the matter is that I am not qualified to do anywhere close the quality of work that Cody is capable of. Under my leadership, Outline would become nothing more than a general chat forum that would eventually become quite boring and deserted. And I don't want that for Outline. It was hard coming to this conclusion about myself, it truly was. I have burst into tears several times since Cody first approached Doug and I with the possibility of Outline entering a non-updated state. My fiance has looked at me like I'm nuts because I'll be sitting on the other end of the couch trying to conceal the fact that I'm sobbing. If I felt that I possessed the qualities necessary to keep Outline afloat, I would take on this role. But I refuse to let Outline become a joke under weak leadership.

I will still be here after we enter this phase, the same as I always have. I'll still be posting and monitoring as I always have. I'm not ready to leave Outline and I hope that many of you feel the same way and will continue posting with me. I'll be here for as long as I am able to. I won't abandon Outline, because that's not what this is. This is just the acknowledgement that everything must end eventually. This is what's best for Cody, and my not taking up the role as administrator is what's best for Outline, even if it doesn't seem like it.

I meant what I said in my initial post here, though perhaps I shouldn't have kept it so brief. I'm not okay with this, because Outline has become such a large part of my life. Many of the friends I've made here have expressed a desire to come to my wedding and I hope that you do because I love all of you and consider each of you just as dear a friend as anyone I know in real life outside of the computer. I'm not okay with this because it forces me to face the inevitable. Outline was always going to reach this point, if not now then someday, probably not far off. But I hope so much that afterwards, I won't be saying hello in an empty general chat topic.
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Esper
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Well, shit.

I quit forums a while ago, but I still pop onto outline to check up and talk to some people here and there, it's a shame it's going into a non-updated state because it will force community to leave itself.

Granted I'm glad that it'll still be around just for the sake of it. When I first worked as a staff member here, I didn't expect this forum to grow this big, but holy shit.

Me Sith Richard and a bunch of the early few were like... yeah, forum, whoo!

And here we are, at the end of THE era.

Cheers guys. Cheers.
Edited by Esper, Tuesday, 10. September 2013, 22:33.
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Madyy
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Anything I've said regarding any of this was done via text, so only Cody knows what I think unless he's told everyone else. But I truly don't know what else to add. A lot of people have said what I think. Honestly, I think so much. I've taken this into every single perspective I could come up with. I went through almost every single thing, every single reaction everyone has had here. Some are upset. Some are hurt. Some are mad. Some are understanding. Some are all of the above.

Do I want this to happen? No. I've sent 4 years of my life here. I spent 3 of those years as staff and manager. Outline changed me in probably more ways than I can think of. No, I'm not like Cody and pursuing a graphic design career. Learning how to design and code was fun, I'll admit. But from being involved with the community and having to deal with so many different people and learning how to be a leader, I wouldn't be majoring in human resources if I hadn't have been staff here. I'd probably be clueless as to what I want to do. I never would have met some of the best friends I've ever had, friends I know I'll still have, long after Outline is gone.

I don't want to see my online home of 4 years to close. But I also don't want it to be handed off to someone else and watch it go from admin to admin until someone gives up and closes. I don't want someone to take over and not be able to handle it and everyone else give up on it. I don't want a lot of things to happen. I don't want anything to happen to Outline. And despite what I just said, I'd love if someone could take over and keep it going. But the thing is, we've all been under Cody for years. No one can live up to that. We'll all end up expecting all these things that won't happen. I'm not trying to bash on anyone's capabilities saying that no one else can be admin here, but I'm just trying to be honest and I'm not good at getting words right. It won't be the same with any other admin. Or maybe that's just me. My big thing when Cody asked me what I thought is that I didn't want to watch it just fade away. Except part of me knew that regardless of if Cody kept himself here as admin and just didn't do as much or if he stepped down, eventually it would happen. I gave it all up to Cody. Because even though it may sound selfish in his part, he's one of the few that have given so, so much into this board. And if anyone has to make this decision, it's him. Life happens. Everyone is growing up, going to college, living life. It had to happen. As much as I wanted it to, Outline was never going to last forever. It's already beaten the odds.

I'm pretty sure I could've said more. I probably rambled way too much. I probably said a bunch of unnecessary stuff. But it's 2am and I don't care, I'm probably already at the point where this is a Cody post. Why don't we stop calling this a finale and call the party a celebration of all Outline's been. Because that's what it really is. It's not the end. It might be the beginning of the end, but it's not the end. It won't be the end until that last member makes that last post and no one's there to reply. But until then, let's have this party. Let's appreciate Outline for all it's done for us and all it's ever been. Because that's really what it is.
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Akash
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I respect and love you Cody, and I love Outline and each and every member here.
I will not be making a Huge post, because I will not be able to tell eveything clearly about what I have gained and what I have enjoyed here, I love this place.

I just want to tell everyone that, it is not about closing the board and anything like that, we just want to take some rest and for that looooong rest we want to enjoy the coming week, that's all.
Whether Cody's the administrator here or someone else, Outline will remain open and active, both as design wise and community wise. As all the staff members will remain the staff afterwards also, so there is NO BOARD CLOSING. ;)
Just, we may not give as much amount of time, because every staff has their personal life as all we do :) But we are here always, we always want the community to grow, we want the community to stay rich as always.
So, no one is leaving, everything will be the same as before.
We all, each and every member will run the community, we all will run the design part too,
there will be themes (whenever there is any opportunity), there will be chats, loooong chats, everything will be the same :)

Cody and we just want to tell you guys that we love all of you, and we will ROCK the PARTY next week, after that it is ON YOU guys to just stay active, but I will be here always. :)

HAVE FUN guys, love you Outline <3


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ærodynamik.
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Goodbye Zetaboards.

Best of luck Cody & co.
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Seraphim
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I felt this place died once most of the staff team was more involved with having huge post counts, rather than actually coding or designing anything.

A lot of the themes in the database (released from the past year to now are bland. Some of them are true pieces of art, but still have a lot to be desired.

I see either recolors, releases of themes from old boards, that barely function now, or themes that are incredibly simple (without any saving elements).

Somewhere along the timeline, we ditched the idea of actually releasing quality things, and allowing the laziness that has killed the advancement of new ideas.

I pushed for fixing these things several times, but my words always fell upon deaf ears.
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Can't really do anything about it now, but that's my observation. I don't agree with this action. As the forum was passed down from Sith to others, to Cody now, we should continue that.

This is the only resource board actually somewhat left around ZB. Why kill it? You say staff don't have to come around? Demote them. Most of them have barely contributed to much of anything resource-wise in a long time. One of the biggest problems this board created for itself.

Honestly, I don't really care what becomes of Outline. The last however long, was essentially us riding on the coattails of the board's former state, without really anybody stepping up to see to it that the things that make us a resource board were the primary focus.

I just want to continue making themes, and helping others obtain the information and resources I use to go about my thing. If nothing else, there should be a forum spring up that promotes the creation of themes, learning to do it, coding, advanced elements, and just generally helping each other out.
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Chance
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richard.
Wednesday, 11. September 2013, 18:59
I felt this place died once most of the staff team was more involved with having huge post counts, rather than actually coding or designing anything.

A lot of the themes in the database (released from the past year to now are bland. Some of them are true pieces of art, but still have a lot to be desired.

I see either recolors, releases of themes from old boards, that barely function now, or themes that are incredibly simple (without any saving elements).

Somewhere along the timeline, we ditched the idea of actually releasing quality things, and allowing the laziness that has killed the advancement of new ideas.

I pushed for fixing these things several times, but my words always fell upon deaf ears.
-------

Can't really do anything about it now, but that's my observation. I don't agree with this action. As the forum was passed down from Sith to others, to Cody now, we should continue that.

This is the only resource board actually somewhat left around ZB. Why kill it? You say staff don't have to come around? Demote them. Most of them have barely contributed to much of anything resource-wise in a long time. One of the biggest problems this board created for itself.

Honestly, I don't really care what becomes of Outline. The last however long, was essentially us riding on the coattails of the board's former state, without really anybody stepping up to see to it that the things that make us a resource board were the primary focus.

I just want to continue making themes, and helping others obtain the information and resources I use to go about my thing. If nothing else, there should be a forum spring up that promotes the creation of themes, learning to do it, coding, advanced elements, and just generally helping each other out.
I find it insulting how you believe that most of us haven't contributed towards Outline. Whether I was a very beneficial part of Outline in your eyes or not, I was enough for Cody. He made no mistakes in promoting who gave their time to Outline. It's not about resourcing, it's about having the love for Outline and wanting to opportunity to help preserve it.

Now I know that I just got promoted, but you don't see me going around for the post count, or any of the other ones. None of the staff members care about this. All of their posts are for communication - what I initially thought a forum was all about, yes?

Outline became what it was because it's community saw an interest in the community areas of the forum. We can't push to change that or the community falls through with our "resource aspects". You can look at me and say "Wow, I've never seen a theme designed by Chance before, why is he a staff member on a resource board?" Outline is a resource community yes, but I think anyone who has the common interest to pay attention can accept that it has evolved to a community with some design focus, and a resource area. I didn't join the staff team to give my time to resourcing others, hell this past week if anything, I felt that a few people take what we give freely for granted. But we do it, for Outline, even when we knew Outline is about to hit it's last days. I joined because.. well, I love designing. If my designs could be given to others, I attempted to make that happen, but then I would get caught up with helping out others with requests on Outline because they were backed up and going nowhere.

It's Cody's will to demote us, and to be honest, I don't mind if he does. But to say we haven't contributed anything resource-wise and we have no use, is not fair. Stacha and Doug are two huge aspects and are not designers, or coders. Doug buys themes and provides, yes, but Stacha has earned her spot much like any designer or coder without even needing to touch the resources. You think it was done because she was an avid poster? Think again. If Cody had options that would allow for a staff team to drink mountain dew and spend 12 hours a day making resources, while still being able to talk with a community that attached them to Outline, I'm sure he would take it, but there wasn't and he took what he got. Amazing staff members who do their job & discuss with their community, whether that's through design, services, or simply having a chat with them in the Community section.

I understand that it's all your opinion, and you have a right to that, but I feel that if we went the route to give straight resources, that if anything, it would've killed this community long ago. And it pains me and I'm sure other staff members to read that we gave to Outline was a problem, especially those who have worked for it longer than myself. Maybe I just don't understand, though.
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.Josh
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Reading on what's been said and other peoples opinions I feel that this thread has totally took the community by surprise and shocked. It's going to stay 'open' but there isn't going to be a proper administrator to update the forum and bring new things into it. Well that's really letting it to die out and rot. I'm sure there is more than enough people to keep things community going and it should continue. Outline is a massive forum for everyone and everyone comes here, it provides loads of stuff and it should be pushed onto new administrators to carry on the progression. If the current staff aren't trusted enough by the administrators then maybe a new graphics community should be re-made and to continue what outline has shown.
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Seraphim
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My apologies for not elaborating enough on what I said.

People who were recently made staff, or were interns, you do not apply to my statements.

You have contributed loads to this community, and it wasn't my intent to imply otherwise.

What I meant was the main staff, the ones who have been staff forever, rarely do much aside from bumping their question threads, and posting in the chat thread.

That isn't to say I harbor any ill feeling to those people. They have each contributed well more than enough to deserve their position, I simply meant that as a staff team, their worries should've been more on the resources, instead of the chat forums themself.

I understand what you mean, but we are a resource forum. True, the community itself is a huge part of it, and a lot of what keeps it thriving, but as a resource forum, resources should have been the main focus.

Again, I'm sorry what I said came off as offensive to you, that's my bad for making a wall of text and failing to go back to elaborate on each point.
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I hold nothing against anybody here, and I don't mean to proclaim that everything is bad. I learned a lot from this community, I still do, and it's been my home for coding/designing for a very long time.

I have seen this place at it's best, and it's absolute worse, and my post is simply my view on what was the cause of the place coming to a standstill, ways it could be fixed, etc.
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Tom
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@Chance: You're taking what Richard said way too literally. He doesn't mean completely abolishing the community to pave way for resources. You're making him sound way worse than he's trying to be just to prove your point.

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