The decision to launch the new design last Friday wasn't a coincidence. August 26th marked my ten year anniversary as webmaster/admin of the NLSC. How time flies...
First of all, I want to take a moment to recognise and thank the guys on the NLSC Team. I believe we've got a really good crew at the moment and I'm very thankful for their support and help in maintaining the site as there's absolutely no way I could do this alone. I hope we'll be able to keep the team together for a while yet, thanks again guys.
I also want to thank Tim for giving me the opportunity back in 2001 and recognise all the work he, Lutz and Brien put in to make the site what it is today.I'd prefer to avoid individual shoutouts because I always end up leaving someone out but I do also want to thank the community at large for their ongoing support. We've had our ups and downs, I'm sure I haven't seen eye-to-eye with everybody all of the time but for the people who keep coming back and making good use of the facilities and the new people who sign up because they want to make a positive contribution and enjoy themselves here, thank you. It makes all the efforts worthwhile to know that people like what we're doing and enjoy posting in the Forum, making and downloading updates for the games, checking out the latest news, whatever. Without your interest there's no point in us doing what we're doing, so thank you!
With that out of the way, you may be wondering...Did I expect to be running this site for ten years?
I guess not, but then I can't say I expected to give it up after X number of years either. I'm reminded of a discussion I had with some friends about The Simpsons topping the 20 season mark. On one hand I'd have to say I never thought it would run that long, but at the same time there's never been a point in the series where I've thought "Alright, this is going to be the last season" or "They'll run to the end of this extension and that'll be it."
So it goes with me running the site. I can say there have been times where I've seriously considered giving it up and have come very close a couple of times, but in the end I've been able to step back, assess the situation, work out a solution and keep going, with a cooler head prevailing. Apart from that I've never put a time limit on it though, I've never thought "Well, I'll keep running the site for five more years" or "I'll quit when I get to ten years" or anything like that. My philosophy is that as long as I'm enjoying doing it and am still able to do it, I'll keep doing it.
As such, I plan on doing this for a while yet, as long as I'm able to keep doing it. I know that the time will come when I will have to scale back my involvement or step down but my hope is that it won't be for a long time yet and that I'll be able to leave the site in good shape and in good hands when that day arrives. But I don't see it happening soon. The NLSC does not interfere with my personal or professional life, it doesn't hold me back from my responsibilities or other things I want to do. I've found a good balance with it and that's why I plan on being around for some time.
What's the best thing about running the NLSC?
One of the best things has obviously been the opportunity to go overseas and try out a video game before anyone else, allowing me to a) go overseas in the first place, b) meet some really good people, c) gain some insight into video game development and d) represent my fellow gamers and provide more original content for the site. And yes, attending the 2007 Draft was awesome, too.
Even if the resulting games haven't always been what we were hoping for, I have enjoyed the community aspect of video game development that's become commonplace in recent years. I think it sets the video game industry apart from other forms of entertainment. Movies have test screenings, TV shows have pilots, there are focus groups and all that, but there isn't that constant reaction or same level of input from the consumer in my opinion. TV writers may end up mocking their nerdiest fans, video game developers tend to embrace them. It's something I didn't have growing up and never would have imagined. Back in the day, you read reviews in a magazine, maybe rented the game, hoped for the best. If the games had sequels, you hoped they'd be just as good as better. I really like the community initiatives and hope that neither side will ever take it for granted.
The best thing about running the NLSC though? Well, it's hard to say it's any one thing in particular, so I'd have to say it's all the ongoing positive experiences I've had. Getting to meet some cool people and chat with my fellow basketball and video game enthusiasts. Getting that insight into video game development, being able to partake in the community stuff. Being able to modify video games and share that work and other content with the community. Having a creative outlet. Sharpening people skills, planning and developing projects, learning new stuff about web design and so forth. Something for the resume, that has landed me some interviews (and contributed to me getting a job) in the past.
In short, even though there are some headaches at times, running a fansite is a fun hobby and has been very rewarding. I don't regret getting into this gig and that's why i plan on doing it for a while yet.
Of course, that leads us to ponder...What is the worst thing about running the NLSC?
"Where is the roster patch?" "When is the next roster patch coming?" "Will you release the patch soon?" "The Draft was yesterday, shouldn't we have new rosters by now?" "You're so lazy, release the fucking roster patch!" "New rooster (sic) patch, please." Yeah, that kind of grates after a while. And there's a certain irony in people who are sitting around waiting for other people to mod a video game making accusations of laziness.
Impatience with the rosters. Site downtime. Technical issues beyond my control. Technical issues within my control. Trolls. People who can't or won't let things go. People who want to make other people's online lives miserable. Banned members who just don't get it. Anyone or anything that wants to be difficult.
Those are the kind of things that make running a fansite less fun and when a few of them have come to ahead, that's when I've strongly considered walking away. However, I'd rather not let them win because ultimately, I do enjoy running the site. So you grit your teeth, do what needs to be done, take a deep breath and get on with your business.
What have you learned running the NLSC for ten years?
Aside from getting some hands-on experience with elements of web design, graphic design (still not my forte, which is why I'm glad I have the other guys on the team to create banners and such) and patching, I'd like to think it's taught me a few things about dealing with people and customer service, which I've been able to put to use in my life away from the site (and vice versa). Like I said before, this gig has had a lot of positive experiences. But I'm guessing that's not what you want to hear about.
A short list of some of the things I've learned:
- This article on TV Tropes is probably one of the most accurate descriptions of an online community/message board I've read. Not everything applies 100% to us here but it's a pretty good breakdown of the hierarchy of an online community and the roles people fall into.
- A lot of people just won't read things. I'm not talking about the tl;dr crowd either, I'm talking a one paragraph bulletin about the next roster patch release with a date in bold, followed by a comment on the article asking when the patch will be out (or some other detail mentioned in the paragraph). Some you could chalk up to oversight, the language barrier or even someone being a smartarse, but the rest makes you wonder.
- Similar to that, some people just want to be spoon fed. For those who frequent the sections on NBA Live and/or NBA 2K now or in the past, you're probably aware that we have various resources to help people out with this or that: game tips, modding, etc. Some people just don't want to browse these sections to get the answers they want, asking instead for a brand new tutorial posted especially for them (or for someone to copy and paste the tutorial to the thread they created, or at least the link). For these people, the few clicks it would take to find what they're looking for - even after being told where to look - is too taxing. They're usually the same people who want others to search the Forum for whatever it is they're looking for so they don't have to. It's not that we don't want to be helpful, but it seems there are a lot of people wanting online butlers.
As an offshoot of that, there seems to be a lot of people who will easily give up on a tutorial and demand a new, better one, if they can't get a patch to work. That's not to say our resources cannot be improved, but patching tends to be a case of trial and error until you've mastered the basics and a certain amount of computer literacy is required. It's also virtually impossible to make a guide accessible to absolutely everyone and guarantee nobody will have any trouble doing what they want to do, because everyone's comprehension and computer skills vary. Video tutorials are great, but not everyone is happy with them either. One of my pet peeves is the request for a video tutorial just because someone isn't willing to do a bit of reading, follow steps carefully and partake in a little trial and error. We'll help, but we won't spoon feed. - Still in that vein, when somebody says they've looked everywhere but can't find something on the site (assuming it does indeed exist) or they've read through an entire document they've been recommended to check out and couldn't find what they were looking for...they haven't looked at all. Or they've skimmed. Or they're unhappy with the fact commonly asked questions have standard answers posted and want their own special explanation.
Perfect example: when the site was hosted by Gamespy, we had to use Fileplanet for all our downloads, which required a free log in. Our visitors hated it, we hated it, Gamespy didn't give a shit. The downloads were free and the log ins were free, but it was a hassle and caused confusion because some people still got it into their heads that a log in meant they had to pay. So naturally, we had a FAQ that explained why we were doing this, yes the downloads were still free, yes you need to log in and here's how you register for Fileplanet; sorry for the inconvenience but we have to do it.
Needless to say, there was still some confusion and not everyone read the FAQ beforehand, so I'd direct them to read it. More than a couple of people told me that they couldn't find the FAQ anywhere, or they'd read through the entire FAQ and couldn't find any information about Fileplanet. Seeing as how the link to the FAQ was accessible from the nav menu on the left side of the main page and the very first item in the FAQ explained the situation with Fileplanet and how it worked...well, it led me to an obvious conclusion.
Speaking of Gamespy, while they did at least provide us with free hosting I'm glad that era is well behind us. In addition to having to use Fileplanet, we had to have any PHP/SQL content on a different "dynamic" server than the main site, which made integration hard and Forum URLs look horrible; not that we could use our domain name anyway, we had to redirect it to sportplanet.com/nbalive. Whenever we added someone new to the team, we had to jump through hoops to get them FTP access. They even gave someone else hosting under our webspace, without even notifying us. And then they crashed and we were out of action for a month, a period which saw them lose a lot of their hosted sites to other networks. To their credit though, they did give me FTP access years later when I asked if it was possible to retrieve our old Discus board and were quite humble and apologetic about the downtime that led to us and so many others leaving. - A lot of people are absolutely fine with the rules and the moderators...until they run afoul of them. I guess this is kind of how it goes in society anyway, people feel hard done by when they get speeding tickets but want those other reckless people who speed to get fined and lose their license. I'm not going to say that we or anyone else who maintains a forum is infallible, never errs and exercises bad judgment at some time or another, but there are some people who feel the rules should apply to everyone but them. There are people who feel that way in real life, so naturally it's going to carry over to the virtual world as well.
The bottom line is, if there's a misunderstanding and the person involved is willing to be reasonable about it, usually we can sort it out and move on, no harm done. But when people completely turn against the site and its staff and want us to grovel and humble ourselves in public so that they can get all smug and feel like they've put one over us and are above the rules...well, that's a poster we can afford to lose. There's no two ways about it. - Something I've learned that I would recommend to any webmaster running phpBB software...change that default COPPA email. The default one asks for a parent to print out the included form, sign it to grant permission and then fax it back. Well, we don't have a fax. Most people figured that replying with an email would be fine since no fax number was listed but some people got confused. And others got very angry and abusive that they were being asked for their parent's permission when they were well over 13. Ironically, some have been very childish about it and on days when I've been in no mood to put up with someone being a jerk, I've called them on it with a terse explanation of how easy it is to click the wrong option when registering and received a sheepish apology.
So eventually I changed the email that gets generated when someone picks the "under 13" option when registering, explaining why they received the email and to get their parents to simply reply to the email giving them permission, or if they clicked the wrong option during registration please email us and we'll fix it up ASAP. Fewer angry emails, no accidentally insulting requests for parent's permission when an adult signs up and makes a mistake during registration. - Be wary of throwing dates out there, because a lot of people want to set them in stone. It doesn't matter that roster patches are free and made in good will. If you say they're going to be out on the 15th and you've got to delay them until the 16th...well, fuck you, you lazy bastard, how dare you?!? That's taught me to set tentative dates unless I'm 99.9% sure there won't be any delays, as well as to liberally use the phrase "When it's done and not a moment sooner."
- The people who claim they don't care if they get banned are the ones that care the most. At the very least, they care enough to want to try and get the last word in or take one last shot at everyone after getting banned. It stands to reason, of course. If you like attention that much that you have to post a big rant against the site, tell everyone to go fuck themselves and make a big scene, naturally you don't want to be in a situation where you can't get that attention anymore (ie banned). Too bad you called our bluff, then made a very obvious comeback/sock puppet account.
Of course, through all this I've learned not to let the bad/annoying things get me down and that my enjoyment of running the NLSC and the people who do make it a fun experience win out. We won't have our fun spoiled by the jerks of the online world.
And finally, looking ahead...
Like I said, I'm not going anywhere. We've just relaunched the site and we're looking forward to getting bigger and better. I expect we'll tweak the new design here and there, we appreciate some of the constructive feedback we're received so far. I can't go into the specifics of all the new content we're going to have but if all goes well there's some good stuff in the pipeline and we're looking forward to continuing to grow, continuing to expand our coverage beyond NBA Live and EA's future sim-oriented releases and bringing everyone new features. I want us to be the ultimate resource for basketball video gaming and with the integration of the main site, Forum and Downloads section (now with upload facilities; spread the word!), I feel we have the tools in place to make it happen.
If I could give one piece of advice to the community moving forward, it would be to enjoy yourself. I know I've said it before, but like a lot of online communities I think we get hung up on the good old days rather than working to make things work in the present, make improvements and good use of our facilities. If you don't like the discussions that are on hand, create a topic of interest to you. If you don't particularly care for a certain member, just ignore them and continue to have a discussion with people you enjoy talking to here on the Forum; if an idiot gets out of hand, we'll take care of the situation. I still believe we have a good thing going here, let's make the most of it.
I guess that about wraps things up. Thanks again to everyone for their kind thoughts and congratulations over the past week. I've already done the Q&A thing but I suppose if anyone has any questions or is interested in some more stories, I might be able to oblige.
I wouldn't have put it that way, but okay 
Glad you enjoyed it, and thanks!
