The problem with generalizing the focus is that we would still have many Zelda projects here, and we would need to do a whole bunch to attract users beyond that. I am not against expanding ZFGC's focus, I just don't want to hobble Zelda development here to do that, have Zelda development here viewed as a pariah, or for everybody to give up after said expansion and then go back into a chasing the nostalgia ghost kind of a mode.
The current board structure I was working towards was seeking to help out Zelda development while giving Other development more space to grow on its own. Otherwise though, in some sort of kooky brainstorm I just had (the ideas aren't fully thought through) I came up with this sort of stuff:
ZFGC.com
- Management
- Moderation
- Deleted Posts
- Reported Posts
- Updates
- Archive
- Feedback
- Community
Development
- Sponsored
- Projects
- Discussion
- Recruitment
- Contests
- Submissions
Resources
- Programming
- Engines
- Graphics
- Audio
Rename site from Zelda Fan Game Central to ZFGC
Either -
Eliminate all General Discussion boards
- replace with Community board which would be under the ZFGC.com category
- basically a lot of the General Discussion stuff isn't needed or doesn't need to be cared about here
Or -
Make it so posts in General Discussion don't increase post counts at all
Merge Zelda Projects and Other Projects to just Projects
- if both Zelda Projects and Other Projects are low in activity levels, it should be fine
- future growth might still show that there are a lot of Zelda projects but this would always be a "burden" to future expansion
- increase requirements to get project into board so that all projects have demos
Bring Sponsored back
- now for recognized team projects, potm, and community projects
Actually do the PotM again
- see if anyone comments on the articles for it at all rather than just voting
- laugh ass off when people complain about needing to explain why they voted, then have that requirement lifted and have it so people can vote for more than 1 project, then stand back in shock and dumbfounded awe when no one comments on the article explaining any sort of congratulation or thank you for the winner or his or her efforts.
Have specific Contests to do things beyond Zelda stuff
- e.g., Pokemon, Mario, etc.
Merge Zelda Coding and Other Coding and separate Engines out
- keep track of Engines better if boards are merged
Locally moderate all development boards with those with some interest and expertise in that development area.
- have global moderation done by administrators
Clean up the Archive so it isn't a spam hole and actually means something
The activity levels of the Project boards might be a little distracting for each project there, but in the long ago past people didn't see to mind that sort of stuff, and increased requirements in the form of making sure that each project in that board at least has a demo or trailer from the get-go would at least make sure all projects there are at some level of development. Local moderation would be done on boards in order to ensure that the boards would get cleaned up and monitored by people who knew what they were doing (there'd probably be 2 local moderators per active development/resource board). Basically the thought is to slim down ZFGC, make sure its development quality is top-notch, that its boards are clean, etc.
A lot of that though is wishful thinking and like putting a cart before a horse. Another issue to figure out would be what would a generalized ZFGC look like in terms of its theme (e.g., its forum icons and whatnot). We could keep a Zelda theme in order to appease the hauntings of the nostalgia ghost, but we'd need a theme that wouldn't scream at people we just Zelda dawgs.